No sooner do I post an item suggesting we always look on the bright side of life (see just below), than the Ministry of Health publishes this update: EBOLA DRC - Evolution of the response to the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri to Sunday, July 14, 2019. Killing your neighbours because they've got jobs trying to save you demands quite a stretch from us in the western world. A long excerpt from the Google translation:
EVOLUTION OF THE EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN THE PROVINCES OF NORTH KIVU AND ITURI
Sunday, July 14, 2019
The epidemiological situation of the Ebola Virus Disease dated July 13, 2019:
• Since the beginning of the epidemic, the cumulative number of cases is 2,489, of which 2,395 confirmed and 94 probable. In total, there were 1,665 deaths (1,571 confirmed and 94 probable) and 698 people healed.
• 335 suspected cases under investigation;
• 12 new confirmed cases, including 6 in Mabalako, 4 in Beni, 1 in Katwa and 1 in Butembo;
• 10 new deaths of confirmed cases:
º 3 community deaths, including 1 in Mabalako, 1 in Beni and 1 in Katwa;
º 7 deaths at CTE, including 4 in Beni, 2 in Mabalako and 1 in Butembo;
• 4 people recovered from ETCs, including 3 in Butembo and 1 in 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
Confirmed Ebola Patient from Butembo Supported at Goma Ebola Treatment Center
This Sunday, July 14, 2019, a pastor from South Kivu arrived in Goma after a short stay in Butembo. The 46-year-old pastor traveled from Bukavu to Butembo via Goma on Thursday, July 4 for an evangelistic mission. During his stay in Butembo, the pastor preached in seven churches where he regularly laid hands on Christians, including the sick. His first symptoms appeared on 9 July when he was still in Butembo. He was treated at home by a nurse until he left by bus for Goma on Friday, 12 July.
On the route between Butembo and Goma, the bus passed through 3 health checkpoints, namely Kanyabayonga, Kiwanja and OPRP. During the checks, he did not seem to show signs of the disease. In addition, at each checkpoint, he has written different names and surnames on the lists of travelers, probably indicating his desire to hide his identity and state of health.
As soon as he arrived in Goma on Sunday morning, he went to a health center because he did not feel well and started having a fever. No other patients were in the health center, reducing the risk of nosocomial infections of others. Nurses and doctors at the health center who recognized the symptoms of Ebola immediately alerted the response teams in Goma who transferred him to the Ebola Treatment Center (ETC). Around 15:00, the result of the lab test confirmed that he was Ebola positive. If his state of health permits, the patient will be transferred by ambulance to the CTE of Butembo to continue his care as of Monday, as provided by the procedure of the contingency plan.
It is important for people to stay calm. Due to the speed with which the patient has been identified and isolated, as well as the identification of all bus passengers from Butembo, the risk of spreading to the rest of the city of Goma remains low. Caution is still required. In order to avoid the contamination of additional people in Goma, it is urgent to break the chain of transmission by carrying out the following actions:1. Decontaminate the health center in which the patient has passed;
2. Identify and vaccinate all contacts of the patient without exception;
3. Track and limit contact movement for 21 days.
Since November 2018, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) have put in place an Ebola response planning and preparation system in the city of Goma due to the large influx of travelers from affected by the epidemic. Rapid detection of the patient by medical teams at the Goma Health Center proves the effectiveness of the city's preparedness activities in dealing with the importation of potential Ebola patients. As part of this preparation, more than 3,000 health workers in Goma have been vaccinated and trained in the detection and management of Ebola patients.
In addition, the transport company has shown great professionalism in having a passenger register and making this register available to response teams to identify all passengers on the bus. The bus driver and the 18 other passengers have been identified and their vaccination will begin as early as Monday, July 15, 2019.
The collaboration of the entire population is necessary to prevent the spread of the epidemic in Goma. Beyond the medical arsenal, the Ministry of Health recalls that the response against Ebola is above all community.
As a reminder, the recommendations of the Ministry of Health are as follows:• Follow basic hygiene practices, including regular hand washing with soap and water or ashes;
• If an acquaintance from an epidemic area comes to visit you and is ill, do not touch her and call the North Kivu civil protection hotline directly;
• If you are identified as an Ebola patient contact, agree to be vaccinated and followed for 21 days;
• If a person dies because of Ebola, follow the rules for safe and dignified burials. It is simply a funeral method that respects funerary customs and traditions while protecting the family and community from Ebola contamination.
• For all health professionals, observe the hygiene measures in the health centers and declare any patient with symptoms of Ebola (fever, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, anorexia, bleeding).
• If all citizens comply with the health measures recommended by the Ministry of Health, it is possible to ensure that this case of Ebola detected in Goma is a sporadic case that does not cause a new outbreak.
Security situation
Two response providers murdered at their home in Beni
• Two Ebola response agents in Beni, including a Community Relay (RECO) and a street leader, were murdered, each at their home on the night of 13-14 July 2019 in the Mukulia health area. the border to Butembo. Both agents were part of the local response team.
• These two providers had been threatened since December 2018. The RECO, a woman from the neighborhood, had already been attacked a few times a few weeks ago but she was saved because she had given money to the attackers.
• According to several sources, the attackers are people from the same neighborhood as the two victims who envied their neighbors because they had found a job in the response to Ebola.
FIGURES OF THE RESPONSE
161,400 vaccinated persons
• 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.
Health checkpoints
74,703,211 people under control
• 80 entry points (PoE) and operational health checkpoints (PoC).
Infected healthcare workers
136 contaminated health workers
• Two health workers, including one vaccinated, are among the new confirmed cases (1 in Mabalako and 1 in Beni).
• The cumulative number of confirmed / probable cases among health workers is 136 (5% of all confirmed / probable cases), including 41 deaths.
