The health authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared this Saturday a ebola outbreak After confirming a case in Mbandaka, a city in the northwestern province of Ecuador. This is the third outbreak in the province since 2018.
The patient was admitted to an Ebola treatment center
So far, only one case has been confirmed. The patienta 31-year-old man, began to experience the symptom on April 5 and, after more than a week of care at home, sought treatment at a local health center.
On April 21, the patient was admitted to a ebola treatment for intensive care, but died later that day. After recognizing the symptoms, the health workers immediately sent samples to analyze the illness by the Ebola virus. Investigations to determine the origin of the outbreak are ongoing.
“Time is not on our side,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa after the news broke.
“The disease has had a two-week head start and now we are playing catch-up. The positive news is that the health authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world in quickly controlling Ebola outbreaks,” she assured.
Fourteenth outbreak since 1976
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing its fourteenth outbreak of Ebola since 1976. The current outbreak is the sixth only since 2018, the most frequent period in the history of Ebola in the country. The previous outbreaks in the province of Ecuador were in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 cases registered, respectively.
Efforts to curb the current outbreak are already underway. The patient The deceased received a safe and dignified burial. Which consists of modifying the funeral ceremonies traditional in a way that minimizes the risk of contagious fluids infecting attendees.
People who were in contact with him are also being identified. patient and your health will be monitored. The health center where the patient was treated has been decontaminated.
The experts of the WHO based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are supporting the national authorities in the intensification of key areas of outbreak response, such as testing, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and treatment. Also, he is working with the communities to support public health measures to prevent infections.
Vaccination about to start
Vaccination will start in the next few days. The country already has reserves of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine in the cities of Goma and Kinshasa. The vaccines will be shipped to Mbandaka and administered using a “ring vaccination” strategy. In which contacts and contacts of contacts are vaccinated to slow the spread of the virus and protect lives.
“Many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, which should help reduce the impact of the disease.” Said Dr Moeti, adding that “everyone who was vaccinated during the 2020 outbreak will be revaccinated.”
Ebola is a illness serious and often fatal disease that affects humans and other primates. Case fatality rates have ranged from 25% to 90% in previous outbreaks. Currently there is a treatment effective and if patients receive early treatment as well as supportive care, their chances of survival are greatly improved.
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