ProMED: Ebola deaths approach 2000

Epidemics can occur anywhere, at any time.

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Location:

North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces, Democratic Republic of Congo

 

Outbreak Update:

Mon 26 Aug 2019, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa Dashboard:

2982 cases, including confirmed and probable

14 900 contacts being followed out of 17 000 known contacts

883 survivors

1989 deaths

The death toll for the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo approaches 2000 and the total number of cases reaches 3000.

Since August 2018, confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) continue to be reported both in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, reports UNICEF. During the reporting period, an additional province, South Kivu, was reached by the EVD for the first time.

The cumulative number of health zones that have reported at least one confirmed and/or probable case of EVD since the beginning of the epidemic has increased to 29 since the beginning of the outbreak. 18 of them (62 percent) have reported at least one confirmed EVD case in the last 3 weeks. A total of 220 health areas have reported at least one confirmed or probable case of EVD since the outbreak began, of which 65 have been active in the past 3 weeks.

Beni and Mandima health zones remained the hotspots of the epidemic, with respectively 33 and 20 percent of 215 confirmed cases reported during the last 3 weeks.

Among the new confirmed cases listed as contacts, the proportion of contacts followed on a regular basis in week 33 (31 per cent) decreased significantly compared to the week before (74 percent), partly due to security constraints. The proportion of community deaths among all confirmed cases of EVD continued to increase (26 per cent in week 32 vs 32 per cent in week 33).

At a media briefing in Geneva 23 Aug 2019, Mike Ryan, MD, the WHO's Executive Director of Emergency Programs, said transmission levels have been substantial but stable over the past 10 weeks.

Health officials are still seeing transmission in hot spots, like Beni, feed other areas, such as the recent cluster of cases in South Kivu province. "We're trying to look at how we can change that reality," Ryan said, noting that health officials are always working on ways to improve surveillance and the reach of vaccination efforts.

Ryan said another worry is the recently detected case in Pinga, a remote and insecure area northwest of Goma, involving a patient who doesn't seem to have any epidemiologic links to other Ebola cases.
 

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