The Democratic Republic of Congo can see the resurgence of Ebola, a deadly disease that is behind the recent death of a woman in Butembo, a city in North Kivu province that had only declared in the last few months the end of an Ebola outbreak. .
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that a woman died just days after showing signs of Ebola, a virus that causes severe bleeding and organ failure. Blood samples confirmed her diagnosis, although the woman died before she even knew she was infected.
It was unclear how the woman, who was married to an Ebola survivor, contracted the virus, as the case occurred after eastern Congo marked the official end of the second most lethal Ebola outbreak in history in June. However, WHO officials noted in a press release on the woman’s death that “it is not uncommon for sporadic cases to occur after a major outbreak”.
More than 70 of the woman’s close contacts have already been identified, although no additional cases have yet been reported.
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“There may be more cases because the woman had contact with many people after she became symptomatic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a news conference on Monday.
“[Ebola] vaccines are being sent to the area and we hope that vaccination begins as soon as possible, “added Tedros.” WHO has sent a rapid response team to provide support as needed. “
This is the 12th outbreak in Congo, plagued by conflict, since the virus was first discovered in the country in 1976, and occurs less than three months after an outbreak in western Equateur officially ended in November. The 2018 outbreak in eastern Congo was the second most lethal in the world, killing 2,299 people before ending in June. This outbreak lasted nearly two years and was tackled amid unprecedented challenges, including entrenched conflict between armed groups, the world’s largest measles epidemic and the spread of COVID-19.
Health officials fear that a new Ebola outbreak could seriously affect the country’s fragile health system, especially when facing the resurgence of COVID-19.
“While there is hope that this early identification of an infection can help contain this outbreak quickly, consecutive outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19 have pushed Congo’s health systems to the limit and this could put much greater pressure on an already exasperated one” said Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor in the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba, Canada, who is conducting research on survivors of the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, the deadliest of all time.
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The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through body fluids, such as vomiting, blood or semen. The virus can live in the semen of male survivors for more than three years, according to a study by the New England Journal of Medicine, and health experts say that as outbreaks become more frequent, it is important to understand more about how it is contracted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.