The World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday.
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo – An American doctor is among the new confirmed cases During the outbreak in Congo A rare variant of the Ebola virus that has no approved vaccine or treatment has killed more than 100 people in two provinces, a Congolese official said on Monday, as details emerged about the government’s sluggish response to the outbreak.
Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, medical director of Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research, told The Associated Press that the doctor was among the cases in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.
The World Health Organization announced on Sunday outbreak one public health emergency attracted international attention. As of Monday, there were more than 300 suspected cases and 118 deaths in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, with two deaths in neighboring provinces Uganda.
Health experts and aid workers say the spread of the Bundibugyo strain went undetected for at least several weeks. Cases have now been confirmed in Goma, the rebel-controlled capital of North Kivu province, Mumbwalu, Butembo and Nyakunde.
“Because early testing looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, we got false negative results and lost weeks of response time,” said Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Center for Global Health Policy and Politics at Georgetown University. “We were chasing a very dangerous pathogen.”
He criticized the Trump administration’s earlier decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization and slash foreign aid. “When you divest billions of dollars from the World Health Organization and abolish USAID’s frontline programs, you undermine the very surveillance systems that were designed to detect these viruses early,” he said.
Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said the government was opening three treatment centres. The World Health Organization said it has dispatched expert teams and supplies.
Original reply was delayed
Congo said its first patient died from the virus in Bunia on April 24, and the body was returned to the health zone of Mumbwalu, a heavily populated mining region.
“This led to an escalation of the Ebola epidemic,” Kamba said.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control, on April 26, when another person fell ill, samples were sent to Kinshasa for testing. On 5 May, the World Health Organization was informed that approximately 50 people had died in Mongbwalu, including four health workers. The first case was confirmed on May 14.
Congolese officials said Zaire initially tested samples from Bunia for the more common strain of Ebola. The results came back negative, said Dr. Richard Kitenge, Ebola incident manager at the Ministry of Health.
Ebola was first confirmed on May 14, with the Bundibugyo strain confirmed the next day. Now more resources are being poured into the area.
“The situation is very worrying and changing very quickly,” Esther Steck of the aid group Doctors Without Borders told The Associated Press. “It was caught too late.” But she said that is often the case with outbreaks of Ebola, whose symptoms are similar to those of other tropical diseases.
Report says 6 Americans infected with virus
On Sunday, CBS News reported that at least six Americans had been infected with Ebola in Congo, citing anonymous sources at international aid groups. The AP has not been able to independently verify the others.
U.S. health officials said Sunday that the risk to Americans is low.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues travel advisory urging Americans Traveling in Congo and Uganda Avoid contact with people with symptoms such as fever, muscle aches and rash. The CDC also said it is taking “appropriate measures to identify individuals with any symptoms” at ports of entry.
This is a rare variant of Ebola virus
Ebola virus is highly contagious And can be infected through body fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The illness it causes is rare but serious and often fatal.
Bundibugyo virus is a rare variant. Although there have been more than 20 Ebola outbreaks in Congo and Uganda since 1976, this is only the third time Bundibugyo virus has been discovered.
It can cause fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising, the CDC says.
Dr. Gabriel Nsakala, a public health professor who has been involved in the Ebola outbreak response, said Congo has extensive experience in responding to outbreaks, but the rare strain of the virus could complicate the response.
Bundibugyo virus was first identified in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during an outbreak in 2007-2008 that infected 149 people and resulted in 37 deaths. The second was an outbreak in Isiro, Congo in 2012, with 57 cases and 29 deaths reported.
Dr Jean Kasea, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Sky News on Sunday that he was in “panic mode” due to the lack of drugs and vaccines, but expected some treatment candidates to become available in the coming weeks.
The region has been plunged into a humanitarian crisis
Mumbwaru in Ituri is located in a remote area of eastern Congo, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the capital Kinshasa and has a poor road network.
eastern congo Ituri has long grappled with a humanitarian crisis and threats from armed groups, which have killed dozens and displaced thousands in Ituri.
“No one really fully understands the magnitude of this crisis,” said a U.N. official in Bunia, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
Staff were asked to work from home and avoid physical contact and crowded areas, the official said, adding they were concerned about halting activities in a region that relies on humanitarian aid.
There are more than 273,00 displaced people in Ituri, according to the United Nations
Rwanda closed its land border with Congo on Sunday. Associated Press reporters tried to cross Sunday and Monday morning but were told the border was closed except to international ticket holders. Rwandan authorities did not respond to a request for comment.
Pronczuk and McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi and Caitlin Kelly in Dakar contributed to this report.
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