Congolese Ebola outbreak now worst in country’s history
With more than 200 people dead in the last three months and at least 330 confirmed cases, the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing the worst Ebola outbreak in the country’s history.
This outbreak – the second this year – began in the North Kivu province before spreading to Ituri province in the east of the country.
This is the 10th Ebola outbreak in the country since 1976.
According to CNN, this month, 27,000 people had been vaccinated against Ebola in the DRC, but WHO workers often faced resistance against vaccinations. Compounding matters, the outbreak has been exacerbated by violence against health officials and civilians by militant groups battling for control in the affected region in an ongoing war.
Two health workers died in one attack, according to Congo’s Minister of Public Health, Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga, while 11 civilians and one soldier were killed last month in the city of Beni, which is the epicenter of the outbreak.
“No other epidemic in the world has been as complex as the one we are currently experiencing,” Kalenga said in a video statement posted to Twitter.
Le bilan de cette 10e épidémie d’#Ebola reflète sa complexité. Agressions physiques, destruction de matériel, kidnapping… Voici la réalité de nos équipes qui malgré cela continuent à travailler avec courage & détermination.Ces #HerosDeLaSante méritent toute notre reconnaissance pic.twitter.com/JKLUsGXSB5
— Dr. Oly Ilunga (@OlyIlunga) November 11, 2018
In August, neighboring Uganda opened a number of treatment centers along the border to help contain the outbreak. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one million refugees and internally displaced people are in North Kivu and Ituri, and they pose a potential risk factor for the spread of Ebola.
Despite this, the WHO ruled last month that the current DRC Ebola outbreak did not meet the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern.
