A little over a week after declaring an end to the in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a new outbreak in the eastern part of the country.
In a briefing that was part of the regular United Nations press conference in Geneva, Peter Salama, MBBS, WHO deputy director for emergency preparedness and response, noted that while it was still early in the investigation process, there have been around 20 either probable or confirmed deaths from Ebola, and that he "expects the case count to rise based on the trajectory of the epidemic." At least one healthcare worker has died, and two have been infected, he added.
The DRC's Ministry of Health said of six samples collected, four tested positive for Ebola, but Salama said that the majority of Ebola cases are still suspected cases.
WHO officials believe this outbreak's "signal event" was a woman, age 65, who was admitted to a hospital in the city of Mangina with a fever and "other symptoms clinically consistent with Ebola." She then died on July 25 and was buried in an "unsafe burial by Ebola standards." Seven deaths then occurred in her immediate family, all with similar symptoms.
Salama added that "according to the most recent lab results," the strain involved in this outbreak is the Ebola Zaire strain -- the same strain involved in the most recent outbreak, where the investigational Ebola vaccine was deployed. Salama estimated that 3,000 vaccine doses are still available in the city of Kinshasa.
But the highly successful "ring vaccination" strategy may prove to be a bit more challenging this time. This outbreak is primarily centered in North Kivu province, where there are more than 100 armed groups operating in and around the area.
"Here, we are responding to an outbreak of a high-threat pathogen with a high mortality rate in the context of a war zone," Salama said. "In a large area of North Kivu province, we have very little access other than with armed military escorts. In terms of degree of difficulty scales, we are at the top."
Salama said they are already tracking contacts in 10 physical localities, but may face logistical difficulties in locating them. He added they are "relying heavily on the U.N. system" to safely access all the communities where they need access.
The WHO has "at least" 20 staff on site, and "at least 50 more in the pipeline," Salama said -- with the mobile lab deployed as of yesterday.
When asked if this outbreak was connected to the recent prior outbreak in DRC, he said that though he could not rule it out, there is "no evidence to suggest a concrete link."