SATURDAY- 10th October, 2021: The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday announced that a new case of Ebola has been detected.
The new case was detected in the health zone of Butsili in North Kivu Province, where the previous outbreak was declared on May 3, 2021.
The case was confirmed at the Goma branch of the National Institute of Biomedical Research, after examining samples taken from a young child who died after suffering from Ebola-like symptoms on 6 October.
Butsili is a town close to Beni which was one of the epicenters of the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and about 50 km from Butembo city which experienced a new Ebola outbreak earlier this year.
World Health Organization (WHO) said, it is not unusual for sporadic cases to occur following a major outbreak, but it is too soon to say whether this case is related to the previous outbreaks.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said, “WHO is supporting health authorities to investigate the new Ebola case,” “North Kivu has been battered by Ebola outbreaks during the past few years, but this has built up local expertise and community awareness, paving the way for a fast-moving response.”
In a press statement made available by the UN agency, it was indicated that the North Kivu Provincial health authorities are leading the current response with support from the Ministry of Health and WHO.
The statement also said “During the previous outbreaks in North Kivu, WHO helped build the capacity of local laboratory technicians, contact tracers, vaccination teams and reached out to community groups to raise Ebola awareness, as well as put in place an Ebola survivor programme,”
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s 10th Ebola outbreak which lasted for nearly two years was the second largest in the world and by the time it ended, there were 3481 cases, 2299 deaths and 1162 survivors. The country’s 12th Ebola outbreak which occurred in and around Butembo was over after three months with 11 confirmed cases, one probable case and six deaths.”
