Nairobi (EFE).- The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has announced the immediate deployment of experts to contain the new Ebola outbreak declared in Kasai Province in central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where at least 15 deaths and 28 suspected cases have already been reported.
In a statement released Friday on social media, the Africa CDC said the suspected cases are concentrated in the Kasai towns of Bulape and Mweka, and health workers are among the victims.
Following the outbreak declaration, Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya traveled to the DRC and met with Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba to coordinate the epidemic response.
“I have met with the Minister of Health to coordinate an urgent response, and we are taking strong measures to bring this outbreak under control — protecting communities and supporting the health workers on the frontlines,” he said.
The health agency said that specialized teams have been deployed to strengthen surveillance, contact tracing, data management, laboratory capacity, and infection prevention and control measures in affected areas.
The first case was a 34-year-old pregnant woman admitted to a hospital in August with a high fever and persistent vomiting.
Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus, and investigations are ongoing to determine the source of exposure.
This is the 16th Ebola outbreak declared in the DRC since the virus was first detected in 1976 and the first in the Kasai province since 2008.
The most recent outbreak occurred from Aug. to Sep. 2022, resulting in one fatality in Ecuador province.
This new outbreak coincides with other health crises in the country, including mpox (formerly monkeypox) and cholera epidemics. It also comes amid cuts in international aid following decisions by the U.S. government and several European countries.
Ebola is a severe hemorrhagic fever transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected people and animals, with a mortality rate that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), ranges from 60 percent to 80 percent.
Between 2014 and 2016, the worst epidemic ever recorded in the world left some 11,300 dead in West Africa, mainly in Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, although the WHO maintains that the actual figures could be higher. EFE
pga/vm