Africa’s main public health agency announced this Friday an outbreak of Ebola in the province of Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 65 deaths in 246 suspected cases to date.
The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that it is convening an urgent meeting with Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and global partners to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and response efforts.
According to the agency, the deaths and suspected cases were mainly recorded in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, while four deaths were recorded among the laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases were also registered in Bunia, the provincial capital.
The agency said initial results suggest the presence of a different strain than Zaire, with sequencing still underway to characterize it more precisely.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a Congolese virologist who and 🏽directs the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa and was one of the discoverers of Ebola, told Reuters that all but one of Congo’s 16 previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
Identifying a different variant makes the response difficult, he said, as existing treatments and vaccines were developed for the Zaire strain.
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“The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara,” as well as “intense population movement” and mining-related mobility in the affected areas, close to Uganda and South Sudan, the agency added.
“Given the large population movement between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential,” CDC Africa Director General Jean Kaseya said in the statement.
Uganda’s Ministry of Health said a Congolese man has died in Kampala from Ebola Bundibugyo. Uganda said the case came from Congo and that no local cases have been confirmed.
First positive samples
The World Health Organization (WHO) became aware of the suspected cases on May 5 and sent a team to Ituri to help investigate, but samples collected there had initially tested negative, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Friday.
A laboratory in Kinshasa confirmed positive cases on Thursday, and so far 13 cases have been confirmed as positive, according to Tedros.
The WHO has released US$500,000 from its emergency contingency fund to support the response, including surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and clinical care, he said.
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Ituri hit by clashes between militias
The new outbreak comes amid a deepening security crisis in Ituri, with the deaths of several civilians in clashes between rival militia groups in recent weeks.
The violence has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation, leaving health facilities overwhelmed or inoperable in some areas of the province, the group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said earlier this month. The medical charity warned of catastrophic hygiene conditions in displacement sites, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
The outbreak is the 17th in Congo since Ebola was first identified in 1976. The country’s most recent outbreak, in Kasai province, was declared over on December 1, after three months. Of a total of 64 cases, 45 died and another 19 recovered.
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Ebola is a serious and often fatal disease endemic to the Congo’s vast rainforests. The virus spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, contaminated materials or people who have died from the disease, the Africa CDC said.
