Congolese authorities say at least 131 deaths and 500 cases have been recorded in Congo Ebola outbreak.
The Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) will convene today to advise on temporary measures to tackle Congo’s new Ebola outbreak.
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The outbreak in Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO.
“I did it in accordance with Article 12 of the International Health Regulations, after consulting the Ministers of Health of both countries, and because I am deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, said during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday.
The outbreak, centred in the eastern province of Ituri, has caused at least 131 deaths and 500 cases, according to Congolese authorities.
Two cases, including one death, have also been reported in neighbouring Uganda among two people travelling from Congo.
“There are several factors that make us concerned about the potential for further spread and further deaths,” said Tedros.
First, he said, beyond the confirmed cases is the large number of suspected cases and deaths.
“These numbers will change as field operations are scaling up, including strengthening surveillance, contact tracing, and laboratory testing,” added Tedros.
Second, cases have been reported in densely populated urban areas, including Kampala and the city of Goma in the DRC, and third, deaths have been reported among health workers, indicating healthcare-associated transmission.
All of these factors, Tedros noted, are conditioned by significant population movements in the area.
The international health agency said that the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.
What is the Bundibugyo Ebola virus?
The Bundibugyo virus, which is causing the outbreak, is less common than other Ebola viruses, which is complicating the response because there are no specific treatments or vaccines.
“There’s nothing even close to ready for clinical trials," said Dr Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist who treated patients in West Africa during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic.
“And so that means responders, healthcare workers, and other aid workers are really back to the basics."
The virus is spread in the same ways as other Ebola viruses: through close contact with sick or deceased patients' bodily fluids, such as sweat, blood, faeces, or vomit. Healthcare workers and family members caring for sick patients face the highest risk, experts said.
“In the absence of a vaccine, there are many other measures countries can take to stop the spread of the virus and save lives, even without medical countermeasures, including risk communication and community engagement,” said Tedros.
Outbreak control relies on a range of interventions, such as clinical care, surveillance and contact tracing, laboratory services, infection prevention and control in health facilities, safe and dignified burials, vaccination where possible, and social mobilisation.
Congo outbreak killed 50 before it was detected
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said that slow detection delayed the response and gave the virus time to spread.
“This outbreak started in April. So far, we don’t know the index case. It means we don’t know how far is the magnitude of this outbreak,” he said, using a term for the first detectable case of an epidemic.
The earliest known suspected case, a 59-year-old man, developed symptoms on 24 April and died at a hospital in Ituri on 27 April.
By the time health authorities were first alerted to the outbreak on social media on 5 May, 50 deaths had already been recorded, the Africa CDC said.
WHO said at least four deaths have been reported among healthcare workers who showed Ebola symptoms.
