Health workers are preparing to inoculate people on suspicion of Ebola to take precautions against the disease in Butembo, Democratic Republic of Congo, on July 27, 2019.
JC Wenga | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The World Health Organization warned on Monday of a potential resurgence of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a woman died of the disease.
The woman lived in Butembo, a city in North Kivu province and the epicenter of a previous Ebola outbreak that was reported in June, according to the DRC Ministry of Health.
More than 70 people have already been identified who came into direct contact with the woman while she was infected, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday during a press conference from the Geneva headquarters. agency.
“So far no other cases have been identified,” Tedros said. “But there may be more cases because the woman had contact with many people after she became symptomatic.”
Unlike the highly infectious coronavirus, which can spread to asymptomatic people, Ebola is believed to spread primarily to people who are already visibly ill. The virus spreads through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of people who are sick or have died from the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC says the virus can also spread through the semen of men who recovered from the disease. The woman who recently died in Butembo was married to an Ebola survivor, the WHO said.
Ebola has an average mortality rate of 50%, although it can vary depending on the outbreak, according to the WHO.
The DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research is sequencing samples of the virus at its main laboratory in the country’s capital, Kinshasa, to determine whether the woman’s recent death was associated with Butembo’s previous outbreak, the government said. ‘WHO.
The Ebola outbreak that was declared over in June lasted almost two years. It was the second largest country in the world and, when it ended, there were 3,481 cases in total and 2,299 deaths, according to the WHO.
The WHO noted that efforts to respond to outbreaks in North Kivu province have been especially difficult due to ongoing violent conflicts in the area, which is occupied by more than 100 different armed groups, according to Human Rights Watch.
The WHO has sent a rapid response team to Butembo, Tedros added, and doses of vaccines are on the way. The WHO says there are currently two licensed Ebola vaccines. Tedros did not say what the road to the area is.
“Thanks to the enormous capacity created during the latest outbreak, provincial health authorities have significant experience in responding to Ebola and preventing subsequent transmission,” Tedros said Monday. “We hope vaccination begins as soon as possible.”