#13,810
The World Health Organization has released their latest situation report and Risk Assessment on the Ebola outbreak which has been ongoing in the eastern part of the DRC very nearly 6 months, and shows no signs of ending any time soon.
Confirmed and probable cases have now reached (and likely exceeded) 713 - a jump of more than 80 in the past two weeks. While that pales when compared to the 28,000+ incurred during the 2014 West African epidemic - it has become the second largest outbreak on record by a wide margin.Complicating matters are the lack of government control of all of the affected areas, a bitterly contested and now disputed national election, limited resources, recurring attacks on healthcare personnel, and a notoriously porous border with Uganda to the east.
Citing a recent spike in reported cases - many not part of any known chains of infection - and ongoing challenges on ground, the tone of today's report from the World Health Organization report is noticeably less sanguine than what was being reported only a few weeks ago (see January 11th update).
I've only included some excerpts from a much larger report, so follow the link to read it in its entirety.
Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Disease outbreak news: Update
24 January 2019
The Ministry of Health (MoH), WHO and partners have continued to face challenges in the containment and control of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The number of reported cases increased during recent weeks, most notably from the Katwa health zone where response teams have faced pockets of community mistrust. The outbreak has also extended southwards to Kayina health zone, a high security risk area. Teams are working actively to build community trust and scale up response activities around these new clusters.
Figure 1 shows that as of 22 January 2019, there have been a total of 713 EVD cases1 (664 confirmed and 49 probable), including 439 deaths (overall case fatality ratio: 62%). Thus far, 247 people have been discharged from Ebola Treatment Centres (ETCs), with many having enrolled in a dedicated program for monitoring and supporting survivors. Among cases with a reported age and sex, 59% (420/710) of cases were female, and 30% (214/708) were aged less than 18 years; including 108 infants and children under 5 years. Sixty-one healthcare workers have been infected to date.
During the last 21 days (2 January – 22 January 2019), 102 new cases have been reported from 13 health zones (Figure 2), including: Katwa (62), Butembo (12), Oicha (6), Kayina (5), Beni (2), Manguredjipa (3), Kyondo (3), Kalungata (2), Komanda (1), Musienene (2), Biena (2), Mabalako (1), and Vuhovi (1). The current outbreak hotspots of Butembo and Katwa encompass an urban area with a population of approximately one million people.
Of the 148 cases reported in Katwa to date, less than half (55/148) were registered as contacts at the time of illness onset. Moreover, 10% (14/148) of these cases comprised of healthcare workers, and among those with available information, 42% (45/107) reported having attended a funeral in the weeks prior to illness onset.
Collectively, these figures suggest that the observed increase in Katwa is being driven by a combination of both healthcare facility and community-based transmissions. Health protection and control measures such as infection prevention and control in health centers, vaccination for healthcare and other frontline workers, and safe and dignified burial practices, are being strengthened to interrupt the chains of transmission.
(SNIP)
WHO risk assessment
WHO reviewed its risk assessment for the outbreak and the risk remains very high at the national and regional levels; the global risk level remains low. This outbreak of EVD is affecting north-eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bordering Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
There is a potential risk for transmission of EVD at the national and regional levels due to extensive travel between the affected areas, the rest of the country, and neighbouring countries for economic and personal reasons as well as due to insecurity. The country is concurrently experiencing other epidemics (e.g. cholera, vaccine-derived poliomyelitis, malaria), and a long-term humanitarian crisis. Additionally, the security situation in North Kivu and Ituri at times limits the implementation of response activities.
As the risk of national and regional spread is very high, it is important for neighbouring provinces and countries to enhance surveillance and preparedness activities. The International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) Emergency Committee has advised that failing to intensify these preparedness and surveillance activities would lead to worsening conditions and further spread. WHO will continue to work with neighbouring countries and partners to ensure that health authorities are alerted and are operationally prepared to respond.
(Continue . . . )
