A POTENTIAL new outbreak of Ebola has sickened at least 12 people and killed eight in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It comes as a deadly eye-bleeding disease related to Ebola spreads through neighbouring Tanzania, killing nine people so far.
A potential outbreak of Ebola has sickened 12 and killed eight in the Democratic Republic of Congo[/caption]
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been struck by several Ebola outbreaks since 1976[/caption]
The 12 Ebola cases were reported in the Boyenge health area, in DRC’s Equateur province.
The eight deaths occurred between January 10 and 22, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official told STAT.
Samples from patients have been sent to a laboratory in Mbandaka in order to confirm the source of the outbreak, Colomba Mampuya, president of the Red Cross/Equateur committee told Media Congo.
The outlet also reported that indigenous people living in Boyenge were mostly affected by the disease, according to a Red Cross representative from the Bolomba territory.
Separately, the Red Cross has voiced alarm on January 28 over the risk that fighting in the DRC’s city of Goma could cause samples of Ebola and other deadly pathogens held in a laboratory to escape, according to AFP.
Ebola is a rare but serious disease causing vomiting and diarrhoea, rashes, kidney and liver failure, and internal bleeding.
It can be fatal if left untreated.
The illness takes its name from the Ebola River located in northern DRC, where the virus was first detected in 1976.
Since then, the deadly disease has been behind dozens of outbreaks in the region and killed thousands. The last outbreak took place in 2022.
The last Ebola outbreak occurred in Uganda and was declared over in January 2023 after it claimed the lives of 55 people.
Health authorities in Tanzania, which shares a border with eastern DRC, have sounded the alarm over an outbreak of Marburg fever, caused by a highly infectious virus similar to Ebola.
Since the country officially announced the outbreak last week, ten people have tested positive for the virus and nine have died – reflecting the virus’s 90 per cent mortality rate.
Ngashi Ngongo, from Africa Centre for Disease Control Centre (CDC) told an online briefing that the figures highlighted “the very high case fatality of Marburg”.
“We are doing everything we can with WHO and all the partners,” he said.
It comes a month after WHO declared the end of a three-month Marburg outbreak in Rwanda, which killed 15 people.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, previously said the global risk from Tanzania’s current outbreak was “low”.
“Even though there is no approved treatment or vaccines, outbreaks can be stopped quickly,” he said.
“WHO advises against restrictions. Now is the time for collaboration.”
Symptoms of Ebola
Ebola first manifests as a high fever, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches and a sore throat.
Initial symptoms are often followed by:
- Vomiting and diarrhoea
- Rashes on the skin
- Kidney and liver failure
- Internal and external bleeding.
After recovering from Ebola, some people may have symptoms for two years or longer.
These symptoms can include:
- Feeling tired
- Headache
- Muscle and joint pain
- Eye pain and vision problems
- Weight gain
- Belly pain and loss of appetite
- Hair loss and skin problems
- Trouble sleeping
- Memory loss
- Hearing loss
- Depression and anxiety
People can get infected with Ebola by touching:
- Infected animals when preparing, cooking or eating them
- Body fluids of an infected person such as saliva, urine, faeces or semen
- Things that have the body fluids of an infected person like clothes or sheets.
Ebola enters the body through cuts in the skin or when touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth.
Source: WHO
Marburg has been flagged by the WHO as a “priority pathogen” with pandemic potential.
Previous outbreaks have seen around half of those infected die, though in places where health care is poor, that has risen to nearly 90 per cent.
How does Ebola spread?
The virus is transmitted through direct contact with blood and body fluids and objects that have been contaminated by someone with Ebola.
It also spreads through contact with sick or dead wild animals.
It can taken symptoms two to 21 days to appear following infection – this is known as an incubation period.
Ebola first manifests as a high fever, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches and a sore throat.
Initial symptoms are often followed by vomiting and diarrhoea, rashes on the skin, kidney and liver failure, and sometimes internal and external bleeding.
People who survive the virus can suffer from arthritis as well as vision and hearing problems.
Some types of Ebola can be prevented with vaccines and treated with medicines.
