Congo Strengthens Ebola Response Efforts
Up to 16 tonnes of UNICEF-donated supplies arrived at Bunia National Airport in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, as the country battles a new Ebola outbreak with more than 500 suspected cases reported.
Footage shows an aircraft carrying supplies landing at the airport, where staff unloaded the cargo and transferred it onto trucks for delivery. Officials and UNICEF personnel were on site to oversee the operation.
Authorities Urge Community Cooperation
“UNICEF is providing us with 16 tons of supplies; others had already provided supplies. We are currently working to establish all the structures of the response so that every pillar is functioning, from surveillance to communication,” said Matias Musoko, a response coordinator in Ituri Province.
He urged ‘community involvement’, advising the public to comply with regulations and end the outbreak ‘as quickly as possible’.
“We cannot yet say that it is under control. We are still working to contain the epidemic and are assessing all the needs so that care can be properly organised,” he underlined.
Officials also called on the media to ‘spread the true message’ about the dire situation in the region, including preventative measures and information about affected areas.
Bundibugyo Strain Raises Concerns
The latest Ebola outbreak, which began in late April, has resulted in up to 536 suspected cases, 34 confirmed cases and 134 deaths, according to the health ministries of the DRC and Uganda, with complications linked to the Bundibugyo strain.
The outbreak started in Bunia and the Mungwalu mining zone before spreading to neighbouring Uganda, where one death has been recorded, marking the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak since 1976.
Unlike the Zaire strain, the Bundibugyo strain has no specific vaccine or treatment, and its early symptoms resemble malaria, complicating detection despite a fatality rate of up to 50 percent.
Conflict Hampers Disease Containment Efforts
The outbreak follows the country’s 16th epidemic, which ended in December with 64 cases and 45 deaths. The deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people. The Africa CDC has warned that ongoing rebel violence and mass displacement are hampering contact tracing.
Article by Viory
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