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A person with suspected Ebola arrives at a treatment centre in DRC.<\/p>\n\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A person with suspected Ebola arrives at a treatment centre in DRC.<\/p>\n
After a gruelling recent Ebola infection, Dr Patrick Oparpio, a gynaecologist based in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has urged health authorities to offer psychological support for Ebola survivors and their families.<\/p>\n
This week, the DRC reported 6,843 Ebola cases and 3,310 deaths \u2013 a case fatality rate of over 48%\u00a0 \u2013 mostly from Ituri province, where Bunia is situated, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in a coma for four days, and spent eight days under intubation,\u201d Oparpio told a webinar last week organised by the World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) Information Network for Epidemics, known as Epi-WIN.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hospitalised for a very long time. When I was discharged from the hospital, I didn\u2019t believe I was going to be able to go back to my regular life or get back to my professional life,\u201d said Oparpio, whose fianc\u00e9e was also infected but did not survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I recovered, I had to be taken care of by psychologists. I had to get some therapy. When I look around me, I see orphans. I see people who have lost loved ones who need that psychiatric support. That\u2019s one of the things that the WHO needs to think about as well. I haven\u2019t really seen that being addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oparpio, who only went to an Ebola treatment centre several days after falling ill as he initially thought he had malaria, said Ebola survivors could help educate their communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can talk to those in vulnerable situations to help prevent the spread of the disease,\u201d said Oparpio.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are probably better situated to fight against this disease as we\u2019ve already experienced it. We know what it\u2019s like, and we know what our community is thinking, and how to answer some of the questions that they have, and [address] some of the distrust that they have.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cSome 218 health workers have been infected, but most in the early phase of the outbreak,\u201d Dr Yap Boum told the Africa CDC media briefing on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In the past week, an additional health zone, Kayna in North Kivu, reported Ebola cases for the first time. This means 61 health zones are affected in six out of the DRC\u2019s 26 provinces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ituri is the worst-affected province, accounting for 80% of cases. Twenty-eight of its 36 health zones have Ebola cases. However, the outbreak may be stabilising as Ituri reported fewer cases and deaths in the past week than previously.<\/p>\n
However, cases continue to rise in Ituri\u2019s neighbouring provinces of North Kivu and Haut-U\u00e9l\u00e9.\u00a0North Kivu is the second worst affected province, with 16 of its 34 health zones affected.\u00a0 However, no new cases have been reported from South Kivu province since 29 May.\u00a0<\/p>\n