KINSHASA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Kasai Province in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed 42 people out of 64 recorded cases, local health authorities said Saturday, as the United Nations (UN) called for “global-scale prevention.”
Of the 64 cases registered as of Sept. 26, including 53 confirmed and 11 probable, 42 deaths were reported, 31 of them among confirmed cases, said Bazin Pembe, provincial minister of communication and media, as cited by local media.
The outbreak was declared on Sept. 4 by the Congolese government, which is the 16th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the virus was first discovered in 1976.
Kasai is among the most fragile regions of the country, facing a weak health system, limited access to safe water, drug shortages, and poor sanitation, said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“Outbreaks like this also remind us how important global preparedness is, as well as the immediate response,” said John Agbor, UNICEF representative in the DRC, in a statement released on Wednesday.
Cases range in age from 0 to 65 years, with children aged nine and under being the most affected, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Another report released Wednesday by the DRC health ministry said that 2,103 people had been vaccinated. With more than 20,000 doses already delivered, about 45,000 additional doses are on the way to Kasai, according to UNICEF.
The vaccine is being administered under a ring vaccination strategy, which targets those at highest risk of infection through contact with confirmed patients, the WHO said.
Concerns are mounting as new Ebola cases have been detected in additional sectors of the Bulape health zone, the epicenter of the outbreak. The International Medical Corps warned on Wednesday in a report that rumors of people fleeing affected areas could facilitate the spread of the virus beyond Kasai to neighboring provinces or even across the border into Angola.
“The next two to three weeks will be critical for containing transmission in Bulape and reducing the risk of further spread,” the WHO report said, calling for sustained surveillance, expanded vaccination, stronger infection prevention, and greater community engagement.
In September 2022, the DRC declared the end of its 15th Ebola outbreak, which had emerged with a confirmed case in the eastern province of North Kivu.
Ebola is a highly contagious hemorrhagic fever that causes a range of symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain, and malaise, and in many cases, internal and external bleeding, according to the WHO. ■