Congolese health officials on Sunday reaffirmed an outbreak of Ebola in the east of the country, the fourth in less than three years
BENI, CONGO – Congolese health officials on Sunday reaffirmed an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, the fourth in less than three years. Health Minister Eteni Longondo died on February 3 in the northern Kivu province city of Butembo.
The woman from the nearby village of Biena felt sick for a few days before being tested in a clinic there. She then went to a hospital in Butembo but died before getting the result. The government has begun tracking down anyone who came in contact with her to eradicate the epidemic as soon as possible, Longondo said.
This is the twelfth outbreak in the conflict-ridden Congo since the virus was first discovered in the country in 1976, and it comes less than three months after an outbreak in the western province of Equateur was officially ended in November. The 2018 outbreak in eastern Congo was the second deadliest in the world, killing 2,299 people before ending in June. This outbreak lasted nearly two years and has been fought amid unprecedented challenges, including entrenched conflict between armed groups, the world’s largest measles epidemic and the spread of COVID-19.
Health officials are concerned that a new Ebola outbreak could adversely affect the country’s fragile health system, especially as COVID-19 revives.
“While there is hope that this early identification of an infection can help prevent this outbreak quickly, the outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 have pushed the Congo’s health systems to the extreme, and it can put an already inflamed strain on many. larger farm system, ”says Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Canadian University of Manitoba and who is researching survivors of the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, the deadliest ever .
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted by body fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The source of the pollution is still unknown, but the woman who died was, according to the government, the wife of an Ebola survivor. According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the virus can live for more than three years in the semen of male survivors, and according to health experts, as outbreaks occur more frequently, it is important to understand more about how they are contracted. .
The World Health Organization said in a statement on Sunday that it was not uncommon for sporadic cases to occur after a major outbreak, and that previous Ebola reactions have made it easier to deal with.
“The expertise and capacity of local health teams has been critical in locating this new Ebola case and paving the way for a timely response,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, regional director of the WHO in Africa, said. The WHO is investigating the matter and trying to identify the virus strain to determine the link with the previous outbreak.
Congo has suffered more than a quarter of a century of conflict and mistrust of government health workers and other outsiders is high in eastern Congo. Residents in Butembo are already asking why it has taken four days since the woman was tested to announce the results.
“It’s frustrating because the contacts will move and it’s going to be hard to find,” Butembo resident Vianey Kasondoli told The Associated Press by telephone. “The government and the Ministry of Health must control the disease as soon as possible.”