New cases of Ebola have emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Government of the country declared a fresh outbreak of the disease (EVD) in Bikoro in Equateur Province on Tuesday 8th May 2018. The declaration was made following the laboratory confirmation of two cases of EVD.

According to the report sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) from the Ministry of Health of DRC, two out of the five samples collected tested positive for EVD at the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa. As at the time of the report, more specimen were being collected for testing.

WHO in conjunction with the government of DRC have intensified efforts to scale up its operations and equally secure the collaboration of medical health partners using a previously successful model against similar EVD outbreak in 2017.

“Our top priority is to get to Bikoro to work alongside the Government of DRC and partners to reduce the loss of life and suffering related to this new Ebola virus disease outbreak,”

 “Working with partners and responding early and in a coordinated way will be vital to containing this deadly disease,” said Dr. Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response.

The first multi-disciplinary team was deployed to Bikoro on the same day the Government declared the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease to further strengthen investigations and coordination. The team comprised of officials from WHO, Provincial Division of Health, and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Bikoro is located in the Equateur Province on the shores of the Lake Tumba found in the northwestern region of the country near the Republic of Congo.

All reported cases of EVD came from iIkoko Iponge located 30 kilometers away from Bikoro. Health centers in Bikoro have poor infrastructure and rely heavily on international organizations to provide equipment and supplies that are frequently unavailable.

“We know that addressing this outbreak will require a comprehensive and coordinated response. WHO will work closely with health authorities and partners to support the national response.”

“We will gather more samples, conduct contact tracing, engage the communities with messages on prevention and control, and put in place methods for improving data collection and sharing,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa. 

This will be the DRC’s ninth outbreak of EVD since the virus was discovered in 1976. 21 suspected cases of hemorrhagic fever and 17 deaths have been reported in and around Ikoko Iponge in the last five weeks.

“WHO is closely working with other partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières, to ensure a strong, response to support the Government of the DRC to prevent and control the spreading of the disease from the epicentre of iIkoko Iponge Health Zone to save lives," said Dr Allarangar Yokouide, WHO Representative in the DRC. 

News of the laboratory confirmation on Tuesday has prompted WHO to set up its Incident Management System to fully dedicate resources and staff of the organization to tackle the outbreak. This also includes the release of one million dollars from its emergency contingency fund to further strengthen efforts over the next three months and hopefully curtail the spread of the disease. WHO has since started alerting neighbouring countries?

In response to the reemergence of the disease on the continent, countries such as Nigeria have since intensified efforts to increase checks and screenings conducted at airports to prevent the influx of the disease. Nigeria was one of the West African Countries greatly affected by the outbreak of EVD 2014.  

Early symptoms of the disease include muscle pain, fever, fatigue, headache and sore throat.

This is then followed by diarrhea, rash, vomiting, distorted liver and kidney function, and a combination of internal and external bleeding.   

Sources: World Health Organization and Vanguard news