“Cases are being identified every day in new health zones. And that really reflects the scale of this outbreak, a much larger scale than what is being detected and the high mobility of the population in this part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Dr. Olivier le Polain, director of epidemiology and analysis at the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the roughly three weeks since the rapid outbreak was confirmed, Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have reported 676 cases and 136 deaths. of the rare and deadly Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus.
Infections have been identified in an area that extends from Aru, in the north of Ituri province, to Miti Murhesa, in South Kivu, for about 1,000 kilometers. “And we have 34 health zones affected as of yesterday, so, those health zones [with Ebola] continues to expand, with new areas in North Kivu also reporting [cases] yesterday”Dr le Polain told reporters in Geneva, via video link from Beni.
Those leading the response highlighted that many young people in the region are malnourished and are not vaccinated against preventable diseases. t
This means they are extremely vulnerable to disease in a resource-rich region where a humanitarian crisis is already underway, caused by decades of fighting between government forces and armed militias.
Homes, the new objective
To date, most infections have occurred among adults going about their daily lives, “but As the outbreak evolves, we must be prepared for an increase in household transmission, which means we may see more children affected. in the coming days,” warned Dr. Douglas Noble, UNICEF global lead for public health emergencies and global lead for Ebola-related incidents.
“These are already very vulnerable children, so This community’s ability to absorb any additional stressors was already stretched to its limit.”he said, noting that more than half of children under five years of age in Ituri province are “chronically malnourished.”
Zero dose
More than one in five are also “zero-dose” children, meaning they have never received their first dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine.
Estimating the number of children who may be affected is problematic because sufficient surveillance monitoring data are not yet available.
However, previous Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have shown that children “made up a significant part of the population.” significant proportion of cases and an even larger proportion of deathsand the youngest face the highest mortality rates, with many left orphaned or separated from their caregivers,” Dr. Noble explained.
As part of its six-month response to help 3.7 million people, the agency has sent eight transport flights with more than 100 tonnes of emergency humanitarian supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with support from the European Union.
The emergency shipment includes personal protective equipment for frontline health workers, medications, hygiene materials and medical supplies to confront the virus in affected communities.
“Schools can remain open”
Although Ebola can be lethal, it is transmitted very differently than COVID and commonly through bodily fluids, so children who can go to school should continue to do so, the UNICEF official stressed.
“There is no reason to close a school. There needs to be infection prevention and control measures and there needs to be education within the school, among teachers, staff and children.”
Unlike the Ebola-Zaire disease strains, there are There are currently no approved therapies or vaccines specific to Bundibugyo virus. This highlights the need for greater support for surveillance efforts to contain transmission, Dr le Polain said. “We are now at just over 70 per cent in terms of contacts being adequately traced. That’s a big improvement from where we were a week or two ago, but it’s still too low to ensure adequate monitoring.”
Improving local testing capacity is another key factor in overcoming the health threat, as the full scale of the outbreak is “still unclear,” the WHO official explained. He noted that a testing laboratory in Beni processed 500 tests on Thursday alone. “That will also help to have clarity about the magnitude of the outbreak in Beni,” he added.
For its part, UNICEF has also deployed more than 1,600 community health workers and mobilizers and 24 decontamination teams, already reaching more than 160,000 homes.
“We can spare children the worst of this outbreak. Rapid detection, robust pediatric care, contact tracing, and informed and engaged communities can help control this outbreak.“said Dr. Noble. “What we need now are the resources, humanitarian access and trusted communities to succeed.”
