Ebola spreads in DR Congo as insecurity persists

CONGOLESE authorities have confirmed a new case of Ebola in the remote, militia-controlled province of Walikale, hundreds of kilometres from previous cases near the border with Uganda and Rwanda. 

Pinga, where the case was reported, is 150 km north-west of Goma, a town affected by the Ebola epidemic and further from the epidemic epicentre in Butembo and Beni. 

The health ministry confirmed the third case in South Kivu region, more than 700 km south of the first case.

Persistent insecurity and unrest are hampering the response in Beni. 

On 19 August 2019, a protest took place in Beni, Butembo and Oicha in response to recent attacks by armed groups on civilians causing temporary suspension of Ebola response activities. 

Operations resumed on 20 August 2019, with extra caution. The suspension of Ebola response activities often results in an increase in case numbers and in cases spreading to new areas in the following weeks.

In the past week, 57 new confirmed Ebola virus disease cases with an additional 46 deaths were reported from 18 health zones in three affected provinces. 

In the 21 days from 29 July through 18 August 2019, 65 health areas in 18 health zones reported new cases, representing 10 percent of the 665 health areas in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. During this period, a total of 215 confirmed cases were reported, with the majority coming from the health zones of Beni.

Cases  detected in two new health zones this past week include Mwenga Health Zone in South Kivu and Pinga Health Zone in North Kivu. In Mwenga, three confirmed cases have been reported thus far after two individuals (mother and child) had contact with a confirmed case in Beni before travelling south. 

The third confirmed case was a co-patient in a community health facility where the first cases initially sought care. In Pinga, one confirmed case has been reported and investigations are ongoing to identify epidemiological links between this individual and outbreak-affected areas. Rapid response teams were quickly deployed to scale up surveillance and response operations in both areas.