The Ministry of Health has published EBOLA DRC - Evolution of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Excerpt from the Google translation:
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI
Saturday, March 30, 2019
The epidemiological situation of the Ebola Virus Disease dated March 29, 2019:
• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 1,069, of which 1,003 are confirmed and 66 are probable. In total, there were 665 deaths (599 confirmed and 66 probable) and 329 people cured.
• 293 suspected cases under investigation;
• 10 new confirmed cases, including 3 in Vuhovi, 2 in Mandima, 2 in Katwa, 1 in Oicha, 1 in Mambasa and 1 in Beni;
º New health zone potentially affected: A girl living in Mandima (Biakato Mine) was detected as a confirmed case in Mambasa (Ituri). It seems that she went there after getting sick to be cared for where her parents live. Further investigations will determine whether the case should be reclassified to Mandima.
• 5 new deaths of confirmed cases, including
º 2 community deaths, 1 in Katwa and 1 in Vuhovi;
º 3 deaths at CTE, including 2 in Butembo and 1 in Beni;
• 4 new cured patients, 2 of whom were from Butembo CTE and 2 from CTE de Beni.
/! \ The data presented in this table are subject to change later, after extensive investigations and after redistribution of cases and deaths in their health areas.
News of the response
Reopening of the Katwa Ebola Treatment Center
• The Ebola Treatment Center in Katwa has been officially reopened since Saturday, March 30, 2019. After the attacks of the two CTEs in Butembo town in late February, a general feeling of fear had invaded both the communities and the response teams. The coordination then initiated community dialogues to listen to the community and rebuild trust so that the communities would accept the interventions of the response (CTE referencing, household decontamination, vaccination, dignified and secure burials, etc.).
• Following the new wave of positive cases from Masereka, Katwa and Vuhovi since mid-March 2019, the Butembo CTE was full and the reconstruction of the Katwa CTE was becoming a real priority. Thus, in consultation with the district leaders of Vighole, Rughenda and Katwa, the communication teams of the response and the socio-anthropologists worked on a plan to rebuild the CTE that would promote the ownership of the CTE by the community.
• Neighborhood leaders were pleased with this initiative as community women were concerned about the future of Ebola-infected patients in the community in the absence of an appropriate care structure for their care.
• Socio-anthropologists have played an important role in defining the practical modalities for rebuilding the CTE and ensuring community ownership. They recommended that neighborhood leaders organize community meetings to ensure transparency in the recruitment of local workers. Then they asked that the traditional chiefs carry out rituals of appeasement of spirits in the presence of the district chiefs and all the members of the community recruited before initiating the cleaning and reconstruction work of the CTE. It was also important to sensitize all workers and the community at large about the importance of seeing the CTE as a community property where all members of this community can entrust their patients so that the experts take care of them with respect.
• Management of the Katwa CTE is now provided by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF. Dr Richard Kitenge, national coordinator of CTE and country leader in the management of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), welcomed the rapid reopening of the Katwa CTE to relieve the congestion of the Butembo CTE. He recalled that the CTE is fully operationalized by local health workers and native Butembo territory. He invited the population to refer to the CTE as soon as possible any patient suspected of having Ebola to increase their chances of survival. According to patient data, 80% of patients (8 out of 10 patients) who were treated less than 3 days after onset of symptoms survived.
Vaccination
• Since the beginning of the vaccination on August 8, 2018, 93,206 persons have been vaccinated , including 23,047 in Katwa, 21,233 in Beni, 11,362 in Butembo, 6,109 in Mabalako, 3,425 in Mandima, 3,005 in Kalunguta, 2,961 in Goma, 2,333 in Oicha, 2,317 to Komanda, 1,630 to Kayina, 1,629 to Masereka, 1,456 to Bunia, 1,413 to Vuhovi, 1,399 to Kyondo, 1,357 to Karisimbi, 1,187 to Lubero, 1,025 to Biena, 936 to Musienene, 772 to Mutwanga, 690 to Rutshuru, 557 in Rwampara (Ituri), 527 in Nyankunde, 496 in Mangurujipa, 355 in Tchomia, 333 in Lolwa, 342 in Kirotshe, 280 in Mambasa, 254 in Alimbongo, 250 in Mweso, 245 in Kibirizi, 161 in Nyiragongo, 97 in Watsa (Haut-Uélé) and 13 in Kisangani.
• The only vaccine to be used in this outbreak is the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine, manufactured by the pharmaceutical group Merck, following approval by the Ethics Committee in its decision of 19 May 2018.
