Two unrelated Ebola outbreaks have occurred in two countries that have already faced some of the worst cases of deadly viral disease.
Health officials in Guinea on Sunday declared an outbreak of Ebola in Gouéké, in the prefecture of N’Zerekore, located in the southeastern region of the country. Authorities have linked seven people to the outbreak so far, including three deaths. Six people fell ill with an Ebola-like illness after attending a funeral. Three of these cases were confirmed and two of the six died.
The outbreak marks the first time that Ebola has been found in Guinea since 2016, when the largest ever recorded Ebola outbreak ended. The outbreak, which lasted from 2014 to 2016, recorded more than 28,600 cases and more than 11,000 deaths. Guinea was one of the three countries most affected by the outbreak.
“It is a great concern to see the resurgence of Ebola in Guinea, a country that has already suffered a lot from the disease,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, regional director of the World Health Organization for Africa. “However, relying on the knowledge and experience gained during the previous outbreak, Guinea’s health teams are moving to quickly track the virus’s path and contain new infections.”
Meanwhile, officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed four cases in North Kivu province, where the second largest Ebola outbreak ended in June 2020. This outbreak had a total of almost 3,500 cases and almost 2,300 deaths. It is not clear whether the new cases are linked to this outbreak through latent and persistent infection or whether it represents a new “overflow” event of the virus moving to humans from an unidentified animal host.
In both current situations, health officials are taking action, working to track contacts, mobilize health resources and vaccinate suspicious contacts.
“The outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo are unrelated, but we face similar challenges in both,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a news conference on February 15. “Both outbreaks are occurring in recent areas. experience with Ebola and are benefiting from that experience … But both outbreaks are also in unsafe and difficult to reach areas, with some suspicion from strangers. “
Tedros noted that in the DRC, out of 149 case contacts, 43 people were vaccinated, including 20 people who were vaccinated during the previous outbreak.