DRC claims victory over Ebola — only to face battle with Covid-19
Ebola-free certificate is given out in Beni. (ZUMA Wire)
There are officially no more Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCdemocratic Re. On March 3, throughout the region affected by the deadly virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the last patient was discharged in good health from the treatment centre in Beni, North Kivu, eastern DRC.
This is not yet the end of the epidemic, but it is a victory: Beni used to be the epicentre of Ebola in DRC, but nowadays it is free of the virus.
For Mory Keita, the WHO coordinator in the Ebola-affected region, caution is the watchword. While he welcomes the good news, he recommends continued vigilance, while urging that people are vaccinated to prevent any further cases emerging.
Nzanzu Carly Kasivita, the Governor of North Kivu province has made efforts to ensure that Ebola ends in his province, where more than 2,000 people died from the disease, more than 3,400 cases were detected in total, and 1,169 people have been cured since August 1, 2018.
“As governor, I organised support marches, so that the population of North Kivu can adopt the best attitudes to fight against Ebola and I managed to mobilise the population. I am happy to announce that there are now more than 21 days without cases of Ebola virus,” he said.
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO in July, 2019. The announcement led to significant and sweeping changes in how the disease was treated in three stricken provinces in eastern DRC, North Kivu, South Kivu and Uturi.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, Technical Secretary of Response in DRC, said that since March 2 this month, the last remaining patients have been cured, and released from the Ebola Treatment Centre. The WHO requires 42 days without any new cases before it declares a disease defeated. This takes the DRC to April 12, 2020 before it can be declared free of Ebola.
Now comes a new threat. On March 8, the first case of the new coronavirus was reported in Kinshasa, the capital. The affected person is a 52-year-old Congolese man who arrived from France, where the virus has taken hold. Two days later, a second case appeared in the same town.
The Ministry of Health said the first person detected with coronavirus was taken to a clinic in the Commune of Ndji’li. The ministry is now trying to trace anyone he came into contract with after arriving in the country.
Dr Muyembe says DRC’s population has learned how to deal with rapidly spreading deadly diseases from the devastating Ebola outbreak. Similar measures that worked with Ebola are being applied to the fight to contain the coronavirus epidemic, he said.
“DRC was the 11th African country affected by Covid-19, but the same protective attitudes that fought against Ebola must be maintained in the phase of this new virus,” said Muyembe. Both appear to have been sourced to the consumption of wild meat. Both show symptoms between two and 21 days after contamination.
“The Council of Ministers — the country’s Cabinet — has ordered that anyone arriving from France, Germany, Italy, Iran, Iraq and China even without any signs (fever, cough, cold, headache, intense fatigue) will be isolated for 14 days at home. They will be followed for 14 days by the medical team taking into account the information collected in the health cards of travellers”.
In addition, any person “presenting [coronavirus] symptoms on arrival and considered a suspect case will be transferred to the isolation site and treated by the Ministry of Health”.
As of late Tuesday, Covid-19 cases reported in Africa were as follows:
Morocco 143; Tunisia 13; Algeria 24; Burkinsa-Faso 114; Senegal 86; Guinea 4; Cameroon 66; Ivory Coast 25; Ghana 2; Togo 1; Ethiopia 1; Kenya 16; Congo Brazzaville 4; South Africa 16; Rwanda 36; DRC 45; Mozambique 1; Mauritania 2; Zambia 3; Central Africa Republic 3; Benin 6; Uganda 9; Kenya 16; Somalia 1; Djiboutia 3 ; and Egypt 336.
