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At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced Saturday to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease.
Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246 suspected cases.
Meanwhile, Associated Press journalists in Ituri’s capital, Bunia, interviewed locals who recounted their fears and spoke about the constant burials.
“Every day, people are dying … and this has been going on for about a week. In a single day, we bury two, three, or even more people,” said Jean Marc Asimwe, a resident of Bunia. “At this point, we don’t really know what kind of disease it is,” said Asimwe.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said late Friday that there have been eight laboratory-confirmed cases, among them four deaths.
Test results confirmed the Bundibugyo virus, a variant of the disease that has been less prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks. This is Congo’s 17th outbreak since Ebola first emerged in the country in 1976.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the global health agency is supporting officials in Congo as they investigate following the confirmation of Ebola cases in Ituri province. Congo has a strong track record in Ebola response, said Tedros, who offered WHO emergency funding and technical support.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted through bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
The suspected index case in the latest outbreak is a nurse who died at a hospital in Bunia, Kamba said. He said the case dates back three weeks to April 24.
He did not say whether samples from the nurse were tested, but said the person presented symptoms suggestive of Ebola.
Logistical challenges
Congo has experience in managing Ebola outbreaks but often faces logistical challenges to get expertise and supplies to affected regions.
As Africa’s second-largest country by land area, Congo’s provinces are far from one another and mostly battling conflict. Ituri, for instance, is around 1,000 kilometres from the nation’s capital, Kinshasa, and is ravaged by violence from ISIS-backed militants.
The disease is so far confirmed in three health zones in the Ituri province, including the capital city, Bunia, as well as in Rwampara and Mongwalu where the outbreak is concentrated.
Only 13 blood samples have been tested at the National Institute of Biomedical Research, eight returning positive with the Bundibugyo strain. The remaining five could not be analyzed due to an insufficient volume of samples, the health minister said.
In Bunia, businesses and regular activities at public places appeared to be normal on Friday.
Resident Adeline Awekonimungu said she hopes the outbreak is quickly contained.
“My recommendation is that the government take this matter seriously and that it takes charge of the hospitals so that this matter can be brought under control,” she said.
Uganda also has confirmed an Ebola case that authorities said was “imported” from Congo. The person died at a hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had said it is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the proximity of affected areas to Uganda and South Sudan.
