WHO is competing to contain Ebola in the DRC, as it confirms a third case

World Health Organization workers disinfect the home of a minister who was just tested positive for Ebola in Beni on 13 June 2019.

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The World Health Organization on Friday confirmed a third case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo as health officials try to vaccinate residents and curb the possible outbreak.

Earlier this week, the World Health Agency confirmed that a woman had died of the disease in Butembo, a city in North Kivu province, and an epicenter of a previous Ebola outbreak declared in June. The WHO has since confirmed two more cases, including another person who died, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergency program, said on Friday.

Ryan said the number of people potentially exposed to the virus rose from more than 70 on Monday to 182. He added that all but three people had been contacted, and that more than half of them had previously been vaccinated against Ebola.

“We see some benefits from the previous vaccination, but we obviously need to look at the duration that the vaccine protects,” he said.

He added that new vaccinations had arrived in Butembo this week. In Butembo, ultra-cold chain storage equipment is being set up and staff are being trained, Ryan said.

The DRC also has other therapeutic drugs, including Ebola monoclonal anitbody treatments, in the capital Kinshasa and another city, Mbandaka, Ryan said, adding that they will be transported to North Kivu by plane over the weekend. The DRC has enough vaccine for 16,000 people in the country, Ryan said, but it is not clear how many arrived in Butembo.

WHO is “still unclear about the original community source” of the first Ebola case, Ryan said, adding that the DRC’s national institute for biomedical research sequences samples of the virus in its main laboratory in Kinshasa to determine whether the new cases are related keep up with the latest Butembo outbreak. Ryan said the results are expected this weekend.

The Ebola outbreak declared in June lasted nearly two years. It was the second largest in the world and by the end of it, according to the WHO, there were 3 481 cases and 2 299 deaths.

The WHO noted that attempts to erupt reactions in North Kivu province were particularly difficult due to the ongoing violent conflict in the area, which is occupied by more than 100 different armed groups, according to Human Rights Watch.

Ryan said the WHO is working with non-governmental organizations, the DRC government and other United Nations agencies such as UNICEF to respond to the new Ebola cases.

Unlike the highly contagious coronavirus, which can be spread by people who have no symptoms, Ebola is thought to be spread by people who are already visibly ill. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of people who are sick or have died from the disease.

According to the WHO, Ebola has an average mortality rate of 50%, although it can vary according to outbreak.

‘Clearly two cases and now a third may not seem like many, many cases in light of what we’re seeing worldwide with Covid, but we were ready to wait for Ebola’s return to eastern Congo, and we will do everything in our power to support the government in the response, ”Ryan said.

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