Ebola Outbreak in Congo has Killed 113 people since August

Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has so far killed a total of 113 people since August.

So far, there have been a total of 161 confirmed and probable cases with 45 survivors and several people still under care.

The response to the outbreak is being led by the Government of the DRC, which is doing an outstanding job in an extremely difficult situation.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 13,700 people have so far been vaccinated using a ring vaccination strategy, and 47 people others treated with investigational therapeutics.

The outbreak has been termed as the worst between 2014 and 2016 where it killed more than 11,000 people.

Due to its highest risk, countries Bordering DRC like Uganda and Rwanda have been forced to take some stiff precautionary measures in a move to prevent the spread of the virus.

Uganda and Rwanda have increased health surveillance at their borders whereby anyone crossing the boarders is thoroughly screened, their blood samples were taken for testing so as to ensure that they are not carrying the virus.

This is the second time this year Ebola has occurred in Congo. 33 people died in a flare-up in northwest Congo in April and the 10th in the country since the disease was first discovered there in 1976.

Tackling the current crisis in the eastern Congolese provinces of North Kivu and Ituri is “arguably the most difficult context we have ever faced in terms of responding to an Ebola outbreak,” Peter Salama, the WHO’s deputy director-general of emergency preparedness and response, said last month. Local mistrust of health workers and escalating violence threaten to create “a potential perfect storm,” he said.

Eastern Congo has been attacked by armed groups for more than two decades and in excess of 120 militia groups are currently active in the region.

Around Beni alone, at least 1,000 civilians have been killed in the past four years. The United Nations estimates that about a million people are currently displaced by conflict in North Kivu.

A vaccination program, deployed successfully for the first time this year during the earlier outbreak in Congo, was put on hold during the lockdown.

Ebola kills anywhere between 20 percent and 70 percent of the people it infects. There are several experimental treatments, but no certain cure. The virus spreads via bodily fluids such as blood, sweat, and diarrhea.