DR Congo reports new Ebola outbreak with 15 dead

The Democratic Republic of Congo declared a new outbreak of the Ebola virus on Thursday, three years after its last one, in the Kasai Province bordering Angola, east of the capital Kinshasa.

The Health Ministry said there were currently 28 suspected cases and 15 recorded deaths. 

It said the first signs of an outbreak came on August 20, when a 34-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized with symptoms including high fever and vomiting. It did not say if she had survived.

What did the WHO say about the Ebola outbreak?

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that four of the suspected cases involved health workers. It also warned that case numbers were likely to increase, as transmission was ongoing. 

"A national Rapid Response Team joined by World Health Organization experts in epidemiology, infection prevention and control, laboratory and case management has been deployed to Kasai Province to rapidly strengthen disease surveillance, treatment and infection prevention and control in health facilities," the WHO said in a statement on Thursday. 

The WHO also said it was delivering 2 metric tons of supplies including personal protective equipment (PPE), mobile laboratory equipment and medical supplies. 

But it cautioned that the affected area is difficult to reach, with few air links, and required at least one day of driving from the provincial capital of Kasai, Tshikapa.

"We're acting with determination to rapidly halt the spread of the virus and protect communities," said Dr. Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa. "Banking on the country's longstanding expertise in controlling viral disease outbreaks, we're working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible." 

What's DRC's history with Ebola outbreaks?

Congo has recorded 15 previous Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976, including one that killed nearly 2,300 people between 2018 and 2020. 

Previous Ebola outbreaks were reported in Kasai Province in 2007 and 2008, the WHO said. 

The most recent Ebola outbreak in Congo hit the northwestern Equateur Province, and was brought under control "in under three months thanks to the robust efforts of the health authorities," according to the UN's health agency.

The WHO also noted how this past exposure meant that the country had a stockpile of treatments, including 2,000 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine on hand in the capital Kinshasa, which it said was effective against the identified Zaire strain of the virus.

These doses would be transported to Kasai and reserved for "contacts and frontline health workers" in a bid to stop the spread, it said. 

How is the rare virus passed on?

Ebola is a rare but very serious viral hemorrhagic fever that can be fatal in between 25% and 90% of cases, roughly 50% on average. 

Symptoms include fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches, and usually progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, and decreased liver and kidney function, and internal and external bleeding in some cases. Deaths are often the result of shock from fluid loss. 

It's transmitted by direct contact with bodily fluids or items recently contaminated by bodily fluids and is not an airborne pathogen. 

Early diagnosis and treatment can drastically improve chances of survival. However, it can also be difficult — especially before an outbreak is identified — because its symptoms often resemble other common diseases such as malaria, cholera and typhoid fever.

Its natural hosts are thought to be fruit bats, which can carry and spread the virus without being affected by it, passing it on to humans and other primates.

Edited by: Rana Taha