Ebola<\/a> outbreak is also extending its reach to new areas in the eastern region, where chronic instability and the threat of conflict have combined with highly mobile and often displaced populations to create ideal conditions for the infection to spread.<\/p>\nRampant insecurity<\/p>\n
Teams from WHO are adjusting and tailoring their strategy to the specific needs of each of the affected areas, while also focusing on bringing the situation under control in Bunia and surrounding areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The five affected provinces are all in eastern DRC where rebel militia violence remains rampant and communities live in fear of conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet’s be very clear, this outbreak remains ahead of us and we are still in the phase of catching up,\u201d\u00a0explained Dr. Bald\u00e9. \u201cWe have prioritized the expansion of safe and dignified burials, [a] referral system [and] clinical case management capacity in the most active transmission areas,\u201d\u00a0he explained.<\/p>\n
The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern DRC on 15 May is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The Bundibugyo virus variant is less common and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.<\/p>\n
Dr. Bald\u00e9 described a recent visit to Kisangani in Tshopo province where WHO is implementing a collective strategy by deploying rapid response teams. The results are encouraging. \u201cNo secondary cases have been detected so far in Kisangani,\u201d\u00a0he said. \u201cCurrently, all five cases are imported from Ituri province. We intend to roll out a similar rapid response plan in\u2026Katwa, Butembo and other emerging areas\u201d, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Congo River strategy<\/p>\n
To tackle any chains of transmission, the UN health agency is also working on a new project which aims to reinforce control measures through the River Congo, \u201ca crucial transit route requiring rapid implementation of control measures\u201d, the WHO official explained.<\/p>\n
WHO teams continue to engage actively with communities to mobilize and encourage them to accept treatment and follow-up care.\u00a0 \u201cThe main strategy is to\u00a0implement a very strong, very effective and very timely response to contain the affected areas by identifying, by doing in-depth investigation of the cases, listing and following all of the contacts,\u201d insisted Dr. Bald\u00e9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the challenges, WHO has reported some encouraging signs, such as in Mongbwalu, where the outbreak was first detected. \u201cMongbwalu is currently showing some signs of stabilization with a similar trend in Goma, North Kivu province,\u201d noted the WHO Incident Manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The highly contagious Bundibugyo virus is relatively unfamiliar but it\u00a0killed around 30 per cent of infected\u00a0persons in the two previous outbreaks in 2007 and 2012, respectively in Uganda and DRC.<\/p>\n
The disease starts with flu-like symptoms including fever which can mask its true identity. Full-blown Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus is marked by severe bleeding and a fatality rate of around 40 per cent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Key points Fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.\u00a0No approved vaccine or treatment exists.\u00a0Violent instability hampering disease surveillance and care.\u00a0Early…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,84],"class_list":["post-817957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}