Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo: Disease outbreak news, 25 July 2019
Reliefweb.int
25 Jul 2019
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in Democratic Republic of the Congo is ongoing amidst a complex crisis, and we continue to observe sustained local transmission and a high number of cases. Most notably, Beni Health Zone accounted for over half of all new cases reported in the last three weeks, as well as a number of cases and contacts that travelled to other health zones. This is the second wave of the outbreak in Beni Health Zone, and it is larger in case numbers and longer in duration than the first. New healthcare worker and nosocomial infections continue to be reported in Beni and other affected health zones, despite substantial infection prevention and control by multiple agencies during the last wave of the outbreak; a total of 141 (5% of total cases) have been reported to date.
The intensive follow-up of contacts of the confirmed case who arrived in Goma on 14 July (see the 18 July Disease Outbreak News) will continue until the end of the 21-day period. In response to this case, 19 health workers were deployed from other posts to Goma to provide support. Rumours of his contacts travelling to Bukavu, South Kivu, were investigated and ruled out by response teams. No new cases have been reported in Goma to date. There are currently no confirmed cases of EVD outside of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The first pillar of the fourth Strategic Response Plan (SRP4) for the control of the EVD outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was shared earlier this week by the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with support from an international consortium of partners working on the response. The first pillar covers the core public health response to the outbreak. Other pillars of the plan are being finalized and will be progressively released.
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