3rd March 2020 was a day of celebrations at the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the last patient who was tested positive for the Ebola virus was cured and discharged. The virus lasted for a long span of 19 months with the hotspots at various places in DRC. The virus spread which seemed impossible to eradicate in 2019 was finally dwindling to a close. But after 52 days without a case, the surveillance and response teams have confirmed a new case in DRC on 10th April 2020. A 26-year-old man was listed as having died from the disease, and on Sunday, health authorities reported that a young girl who had been treated in the same health center in the northeastern city of Beni, an epicenter of the outbreak, had also passed away. On Monday, the WHO said another young girl who had visited the clinic had started showing Ebola infection symptoms.
The Kivu Ebola epidemic began on August 1st, 2018 when it was confirmed that 4 cases were tested positive in the region of Kivu, DRC. On May 3rd, 2019, nine months into the outbreak, the death toll touched 1000. As of now, the numbers of confirmed cases are 3456 and the numbers of recorded deaths are 2276.
One of the major problems was the military conflicts in the affected province which hindered the treatment and prevention efforts. In the month of May 2019, WHO reported that since January, there had been 42 attacks on health facilities which resulted in the death of 11 health workers and left 86 injured.
By mid-September of 2019, the spread of the virus slowed down and dwindled down to zero by the 17th of February, 2020. The new case which surfaced on April 10th was not a complete surprise as the health workers knew that the virus was a stubborn foe that can persist in the body fluids of survivors and be transmitted well after recovery. The worst thing is, the province has to now combat a flare-up of the deadly coronavirus and this new case of the deadlier Ebola virus. At best, even if the newly discovered Ebola patient is discharged and no new cases emerge, Congo will have to wait for a couple of incubation periods- 42 days- until the epidemic can be declared over. But if this doesn’t happen, this newly discovered case would be the beginning of another major spread in the already battered DRC.
A very informative article and a good read. It's sad that Congo has to face a possible Ebola virus epidemic, especially at this time.