The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has declared the end of its 15th Ebola outbreak, six weeks after the first and only case was reported. Meanwhile, neighbouring Uganda is facing an ongoing spread of the Sudan virus, with 62 reported cases (of which 27 were fatal) since the beginning of its outbreak on September 20, 2022.
Democratic Republic of Congo
On August 15, a 46-year-old woman died of the Zaire ebolavirus in Beni, a city in the country’s eastern province of North Kivu. The case was reported only a month after the last outbreak in the country. Since the first appearance of the virus in the country, health authorities put to use resources to build expertise and improve epidemic preparedness and response. Thanks to extensive vaccination and contact tracing and monitoring, they were able to prevent further spread of the virus.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo has built up impressive expertise in controlling the virus and we can marshal the lessons learnt to beat back the Ebola outbreak in Uganda,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “While an effective vaccine is not yet available for the Sudan ebolavirus, this is just one tool. We can and have brought Ebola to heel with robust contact tracing, detection, isolation of cases and good supportive care.”
Uganda
Since the beginning of the outbreak of the Sudan virus in Uganda, the number of cases has been continuously rising. So far, the virus has only been detected in the central-west regions near Mubende, where the first case was detected on September 20. In its Twitter update of October 2nd, the Ministry of Health of Uganda reported that 24 people were in treatment for their infections, and 882 contacts were monitored.
The new developments lift the country’s overall total to 62 cases, 27 of them fatal. Of the 62 cases, 43 are lab confirmed and 19 are classified as probable. Of the 27 deaths, 9 were lab confirmed, and 18 were classified as probable. Officials also announced the first official death of a health worker, a Tanzanian doctor, since the beginning of the outbreak.
Sources
- Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola outbreak declared over, Uganda boosts response ꟷ WHO Regional Office for Africa (September 27, 2022)
- Ebola sickens 8 more in Uganda; doctor among latest deaths ꟷ Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (October 3, 2022)