In line with its fresh health directives against the Ebola virus, the latest outbreak of the Ebola disease in Congo has officially been declared the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday.
The health organisation had also announced that the outbreak has been disastrous while affecting some parts of the north-western Équateur province, with the first case being recorded in Congo on April 23.
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It said that in total, there were four confirmed cases and one suspected case; all patients died of the disease. In a previous outbreak in the province between June and November 2020, a total of 130 cases had been detected and nearly 55 people had been declared dead.
However, the latest outbreak was the 14th recorded in the country of 90 million since 1976.
Between 2014 and 2016, the largest-ever outbreak of the disease took place in West Africa with more than 11,000 deaths.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo had previously kicked off Ebola vaccination in Mbandaka, the capital city of Equateur Province in the north-west, to halt the spread of the virus following an outbreak which has claimed two lives since 21 April.
Around 200 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine have been shipped to Mbandaka from the eastern city of Goma. More doses will be delivered progressively in the coming days. The vaccination uses the “ring strategy” where the contacts and the contacts of contacts of confirmed Ebola patient are given the vaccine as well as frontline and health workers.
So far, 233 contacts have been identified and are being monitored. Three vaccination teams are already on the ground and will work to reach all the people at high risk. To date, two cases, both deceased, have been confirmed since the outbreak began. The disease has currently been reported only in Mbandaka health district.