DRC declares new Ebola deaths just as outbreak assumed over

Just as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was about to be declared over, two new cases have emerged.

On Friday, after humanitarian organisations had already sent out press releases celebrating the success of the response, a 26-year-old electrician was confirmed to have Ebola. The man died, quickly followed by an 11-month-old baby girl, who had been treated at the same health centre as him.

The last known Ebola patient was discharged from hospital on March 3rd. At that point a countdown began. After 42 days, the outbreak could be declared over.

DRC's latest Ebola outbreak began in August 2018. Since then there have been more than 3,400 confirmed and probable cases and more than 2,270 deaths. Last July the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

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Speaking from DRC on Friday, before the latest cases were confirmed, Robert Ghosn, the Ebola response head of operations for the International Federation of the Red Cross, said the coronavirus pandemic has only increased pressure to end the Ebola outbreak. DRC now has 234 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 20 deaths.

“The stakes are increasingly high because the world cannot have two epidemics at the same time, and certainly eastern Congo cannot have that,” he said. “There is a risk of Ebola fatigue, there is a risk of people not caring any more, [thinking], Let’s focus on the next problem.”

‘Gruelling’ work

He described the previous 20 months of work as “gruelling”. For local communities, he said, “it was long, it was painful, they lost a lot of loved ones.”

Ebola is spread through bodily fluids, making it less contagious than Covid-19, though it’s much more deadly. Symptoms include a fever, muscle pain, headache and chills. As the disease advances, victims begin to bleed out of orifices and are likely to die of organ failure or severe dehydration.

Attempts to control the spread of Ebola were hampered by violence. Dozens of armed groups operate in eastern DRC, and locals suspicious of the origins of the disease and the international response to it launched attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centres.

Even when the end is finally declared, risk remains, Mr Ghosn said. “Staying at zero is not something that happens automatically. Staying at zero is actually a lot of hard work every day.”