The World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Tuesday; that health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo are scrambling to limit an Ebola outbreak. This is after a second person died from the illness.
Following the death of a 31-year-old man who was diagnosed with the disease in Mbandaka, in the DRC’s northwestern Equateur Province; after being sick for more than a week, the country proclaimed a new outbreak of the disease last week. The second casualty was his sister-in-law, a 25-year-old lady. On April 25, she passed away.
“This is sad news; and we must continue to put all our effort into saving the lives of anyone else who may have contracted the virus. So far, at least 145 people have were listed as contacts,” Dr. Fiona Braka, the team lead for emergency responses at the WHO Regional Office for Africa, said in a statement sent to CNN.
WHO’s Investigation
WHO says investigations into the latest outbreak’s source are still underway. Since 2018, the Equateur Province has experienced three Ebola outbreaks.
According to Braka; the female victim began experiencing symptoms on April 13. He added that “responders have been working intensely to find anyone who may have interacted with her while she was symptomatic and are closely monitoring their health.”
Vaccines will be delivered to Mbandaka and distributed using the ‘ring vaccination’ technique; contacts and contacts’ contacts get vaccinated to prevent the virus from spreading and saving lives.
According to WHO; the DRC has had 13 Ebola outbreaks in all; including one that began in 2018 and cost approximately 2,300 lives.
According to WHO, there were prior outbreaks in Equateur Province in 2020; from 54 cases in earlier years to
Moeti noted that several Congolese have received vaccinations. This was due to the initial Ebola outbreak a few years ago. This high number of vaccinated people should help in the face of a possible Ebola outbreak in Congo.
In 1976, Ebola made its first appearance near the Ebola River in the DRC’s northern region. Since, the Central African country has had more Ebola outbreaks than any other country.
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