Ebola outbreak confirmed in Congo

An outbreak of Ebola was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the first case was reported this month, according to Reuters.

The news: A 31-year-old male began experiencing symptoms of the disease on April 5 and received treatment at home for a week before he was admitted to a health care facility. The World Health Organization reported that, after recognizing the symptoms, health workers sent him to an Ebola treatment center on April 21, where he died in medical care later that day.

• The WHO reported that the cause of the outbreak is currently unknown.

Congo takes action to prevent further spread: The country is already responding to the outbreak, the WHO said. Vaccinations will begin in the next few days, along with testing, contact tracing and infection prevention and control.

• “The disease had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up. The positive news is that health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world at controlling Ebola outbreaks quickly,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

About Ebola: Also known as the hemorrhagic fever, Ebola is a fatal disease that affects humans and other primates, according to the WHO.

• The disease has a fatality rate of around 50%. In previous outbreaks, the fatality rates have varied between 25% and 90%.
• “The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids,” the WHO stated.
• This is the 14th outbreak in Congo since 1976. The country saw another outbreak in 2018-2020, which was the most deadly outbreak of Ebola in history, killing nearly 2,300 people, according to Al Jazeera.