The Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain, a rare variant of the virus. As of Monday, more than 118 deaths and 300 suspected cases were recorded in the provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. Uganda reported one death and one case under study.
The World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. Experts warn that the real number of infections could be higher, since the outbreak was not detected for several weeks.
Late detection and criticism
Initial tests looked for the Zaire strain, the most common strain of Ebola, and came back negative. “Because the initial tests looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, we got false negatives and lost weeks of turnaround time,” said Matthew M. Kavanagh, director of the Center for Global Health Policy and Policy at Georgetown University. The specialist criticized the US government’s decision to withdraw from the WHO and cut foreign aid, “precisely the surveillance system designed to detect these viruses early.”
The first confirmed death occurred on April 24 in Bunia. The body was moved to the Mongbwalu mining area, which, according to Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba, “made the Ebola outbreak worse.” The WHO was alerted on May 5 of about 50 deaths in that town, including four health workers.
Response and measures
The WHO will send a team of experts and the Congolese government has opened three treatment centers in Ituri. Doctors Without Borders noted that the situation “is quite worrying and is evolving quite rapidly.” Esther Sterk of the group said the outbreak “was detected quite late.”
Dr. Craig Spencer of Brown University and an Ebola survivor said: “I suspect the number of cases is going to rise quite dramatically in the coming weeks as we do better surveillance.”
Rwanda closed its land border with Congo on Sunday. Uganda intensified surveillance on its border. The United States will ban the entry of foreigners who have visited Congo, Uganda and South Sudan in the last three weeks. The UN ordered its staff in Bunia to work from home and avoid crowded areas.
The region is already facing a humanitarian crisis and the threat of armed groups that have displaced thousands. Although there have been more than 20 Ebola outbreaks in Congo and Uganda since 1976, this is only the third time that the Bundibugyo virus, which first appeared in 2007-2008 in Uganda, has been detected.
