The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) health ministry today declared an Ebola virus outbreak in Kasai province in the south-central part of the country, where 28 suspected cases have been reported, 15 of them fatal, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in a statement.
Four healthcare workers are among the infected patients, which has been a hallmark of Ebola outbreaks. The virus is known to spread through blood and other infected body fluids.
The outbreak area is remote and takes about a day's drive to reach from Tshikapa, the capital of Kasai province. There are few air links in the area.
Cases have been reported in two health zones of Kasai province, Bulape and Mweka. Samples were tested on September 3 at the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa and were positive for Ebola Zaire.
First outbreak in Kasai province since 2008
The WHO said it has deployed a rapid response team to Kasai province to help with surveillance, case management, lab activities, and infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities. Provincial communication experts have been deployed to teach community members how to protect themselves.
Also, the agency said it has deployed 2 tons of supplies, including personal protective equipment, mobile lab equipment, and medical supplies.
Mohamad Janabi, MD, PhD, WHO regional director for Africa, said, "Banking on the country's long-standing 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." The WHO said the DRC has a stockpile of Ebola treatments as well as 2,000 doses of the Ervebo (VSV-EBOV) Ebola vaccine.
We're working closely with the health authorities to quickly scale up key response measures to end the outbreak as soon as possible.
The DRC experienced its last Ebola outbreak in 2022 in Equateur province in the northwest and has now reported 15 such events since 1976. The last outbreaks in Kasai province occurred in 2007 and 2008.
At a ministry press briefing today, health officials said the Ebola virus sequence is different from the ones involved in Kasai province's earlier outbreak, according to coverage and translation of the even from FluTrackers, an infectious disease news message board.
First patient admitted to hospital on August 20
At an Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) weekly briefing today, Yap Boum, PhD, MPH, deputy incident manager for Africa CDC's mpox response, shared epidemiologic details shortly before the outbreak was officially declared. He said the outbreak began on August 20 and that the index patient was a 34-year-old pregnant woman.
A health ministry statement posted by FluTrackers said the woman was admitted to the hospital on August 20 and died on August 25.
Health officials from Bulape Health Zone reported the suspected viral hemorrhagic fever cluster on August 28.
Fifteen patients are male and 13 are female, Boum said. More than 50% of patients are 20 to 39 years old. All presented with fever, and 48% had hemorrhagic (bleeding) symptoms.
Boum said though the DRC is grappling with multiple health challenges, it is well-equipped to handle Ebola. He said Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, MD, MPH, is in the country to discuss how the agency can support response efforts.
