Ebola outbreak in the DRC rises to 336 suspected cases, spreads to Uganda
An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has grown to 336 suspected cases and 87 suspected deaths, with one imported case now confirmed in Uganda, according to Africa CDC and Ugandan health officials.
The outbreak was first reported in Mongwalu, a high-traffic mining area in Congo’s northeastern Ituri Province, where active community transmission is now complicating efforts to contain the disease.
It has since spread to the Rwampara and Buni health zones, including Buni, a city of more than 900,000 people.
Africa CDC said on Saturday that 13 cases have been confirmed as Ebola, including four deaths. The wider count now stands at 336 suspected cases and 87 suspected deaths, which have not all been laboratory-confirmed but would make the outbreak one of the largest recorded if confirmed.
The number of suspected cases has risen sharply since Thursday, when Africa CDC reported 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths. Of the 87 suspected deaths now reported, 57 were in Mongwalu, 27 in Rwampara and three in Buni.
Uganda confirmed its first case linked to the outbreak on Friday. Uganda’s Ministry of Health said the patient was a 59-year-old Congolese man who went to a health facility in Kampala on Monday with symptoms consistent with viral hemorrhagic fever. He died on Thursday, and his body was repatriated to the DRC the same day.
Samples collected from the patient tested positive for Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Ugandan officials said. The strain is one of several known Ebola viruses that can cause severe disease in humans, but it is different from the Zaire strain, which has caused the deadliest Ebola outbreaks and has vaccines available.
Africa CDC has placed the outbreak at Grade 3, its highest risk level. It said the national risk in Congo is very high because of a four-week gap in detection, active community transmission in a mining hub, deaths among health care workers and weak contact tracing.
The agency also warned that the outbreak involves a non-Zaire strain with no effective vaccine available in the country, making containment more dependent on rapid detection, isolation, safe burials, infection control and contact tracing.
The regional risk in eastern Africa is high because of cross-border movement involving Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, Africa CDC said. The continental risk for Africa is considered moderate.
Ebola spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected people or contaminated materials. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding and organ failure, and outbreaks often spread quickly in health facilities or communities when cases are not detected early.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
