The ongoing Ebola epidemic in eastern D.R. Congo has resulted in 510 deaths, ministry of health has revealed.
The ministry released an update on the ongoing epidemic, dated the 9th of February. The release reported the total number of Ebola cases, both confirmed and suspected, to be 811. Only 61 of these cases were suspected; the vast majority had been confirmed by lab tests.
Similarly, of the 510 deaths reported in the Ebola epidemic zone, there were 449 confirmed cases and 61 suspected cases.
276 people have also been treated and declared Ebola-free over the course of the epidemic.
The cases have been rising despite a massive vaccination campaign, which has so far reached more than 77,000 people in the affected region. Vaccinations have also been offered to neighboring countries.
Twenty towns within the two provinces of Ituri and Nord-Kivu have reported cases. In Ituri province, only four towns have Ebola cases; the other sixteen towns are in Nord-Kivu, where militia groups continue to wreak havoc despite attempts by United Nations peacekeepers and Congolese troops to contain them. Their raids are hampering efforts to contain the epidemic.
For instance, the town of Beni seems like the de facto base for the ADF militia, whose most recent attack, against a Congolese army base there, killed 3 soldiers and seven civilians. This attack was in January.
Beni also has the highest number of cases; 225 confirmed cases, including 138 deaths.
But conflict is the only challenge slowing down the containment of the epidemic. As happened during the West African epidemic, pockets of resistance are emerging, subverting attempts to cut transmission.
In the town of Katwa for instance, resistance to vaccination, and conducting safe burials has been reported. Since the virus is most active in the body of the deceased, handling the recently deceased is a major transmission pathway, and some people are unwilling to believe Ebola to be the cause of death of their loved ones. Yet there have been 185 confirmed cases, including 101 deaths, in Katwa.
The government is also grappling with the challenge of reaching fairly inaccessible villages, as much of D.R. Congo is thickly forested and barely served with a decent road network.
Among the confirmed cases of Ebola, the fatality rate stands at 59.86%.
By Matengo Chwanya
Africa Global News Publication
