GENEVA: 48 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while 31 people have died, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday.
World Health Organisation Chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters via video link from the WHO headquarters in Geneva that, “It has been two weeks since the government of the DRC declared an Ebola outbreak …So far, 48 confirmed and probable cases have been reported…”
The outbreak, the country’s first in three years, was declared in early September.
Congo’s dense tropical forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus, which causes fever, body aches, and diarrhoea. They can linger in the body of survivors only to resurface years later.
WHO in a proactive move, initiated the vaccination of frontline health workers and contacts of people infected with the Ebola virus in Congo’s Kasai Province, where an outbreak has been declared.
The WHO said an initial 400 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine from the country’s stockpile of 2,000 doses have been delivered to Bulape, which is the outbreak’s epicentre.
The WHO has delivered more than 14 tonnes of essential medical supplies, deployed experts and set up an Ebola treatment centre with 16 patients currently being treated.
These patients are in stable condition and are responding well to the treatment, Tedros said.
More than 900 contacts have been listed and are being followed up on. The first two patients to recover were discharged on Tuesday, he added.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a health advisory to public health departments, clinical laboratories, and healthcare workers on the Ebola outbreak in Congo. This advisory is a part of the global response to the outbreak, aiming to prevent the spread of the virus beyond Congo.
Currently, no suspected, probable, or confirmed cases related to the outbreak have been reported in the United States or outside Congo, said the agency, adding that “the risk of spread to the United States is considered low at this time.” This should provide some reassurance to the public.
