At least eighty people have died in a new Ebola outbreak in the province of Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s Ministry of Health reported on Friday night (15).
Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said in a statement that samples tested on Thursday (14) confirmed eight cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the Rwampara, Mongwalu and Bunia health zones.
To date, 246 have been registered, according to the ministry. The suspected index case was that of a nurse who died at the Evangelical Medical Center of Bunia after experiencing symptoms such as fever, bleeding, vomiting and extreme weakness.
The government reported that it activated its public health emergency operations center, reinforced epidemiological and laboratory surveillance and ordered the rapid deployment of response teams.
Africa’s main public health agency had confirmed, on Friday, an outbreak of Ebola in the province of Ituri, .
The CDCD (African Center for Disease Control and Prevention) said in a statement that it will convene an urgent meeting with representatives from Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and global partners to strengthen cross-border surveillance, preparedness and response efforts.
The CDCDC said the deaths and suspected cases were mainly reported in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, while four deaths were recorded among the laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases were also reported in Bunia, the provincial capital.
The agency said initial findings suggest the presence of a strain of the virus not originating in Zaire, and sequencing is underway to better characterize it.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the Congolese virologist who co-discovered Ebola and heads the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, told Reuters that all but one of Congo’s 16 previous outbreaks were caused by the Zaire strain.
Identification of a different variant will complicate the response, he said, as existing treatments and vaccines were developed against the Zaire strain.
The Africa CDC (African Disease Control and Prevention Agency) expressed concern about the risk of further spread due to the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara, as well as the intense population flow and mobility related to mining in the affected areas, close to Uganda and South Sudan.
“Given the intense population flow between affected areas and neighboring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential,” said Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, in a statement.
The Ugandan Ministry of Health reported that a Congolese man died in Kampala due to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. Uganda said the case was imported from Congo and that no cases of local transmission have been confirmed.
The WHO (World Health Organization) became aware of suspected cases on May 5 and sent a team to Ituri to assist with the investigation, but samples collected in the field 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, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 13, Tedros said.
The WHO has released $500,000 from its emergency contingency fund to support the response, including surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory testing and clinical care, he said.
Clashes between militias
The new outbreak unfolds amid a growing security crisis in Ituri, where clashes between rival militias have killed dozens of civilians in recent weeks.
The violence has worsened an already critical humanitarian situation, leaving health facilities overwhelmed or inoperable in parts of the province, Doctors Without Borders reported earlier this month. The humanitarian organization warned of the catastrophic hygiene conditions in displacement sites, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
This outbreak is the 17th in Congo since Ebola was first identified in the country in 1976. The most recent outbreak, in Kasai province, was declared over on December 1, after three months. Of a total of 64 cases, 45 died and 19 recovered.
Ebola virus disease is a serious and often fatal illness endemic to the vast rainforests of the Congo. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people, contaminated materials or people who have died from the disease, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
