Feb, 8th 2021 – The Democratic Republic of Congo has announced a resurgence of Ebola in the eastern part of the country, after a woman died of the disease, just three months after authorities declared the end of the country’s latest outbreak. The World Health Organization says it has dispatched a team of specialists to the scene of the latest death for investigations.
The WHO’s Africa office, said the woman had died in an area, previously – one of the epicenters of the latest outbreak. So far, more than 70 people who had been in contact with the woman have been identified as disinfection of sites the woman is underway.
“The provincial response team is already hard at work. It will be supported by the national response team which will visit Butembo shortly,” the statement said. She was married to a man who had contracted the virus in a previous outbreak.
The announcement potentially marks the start of 12th Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered near the Ebola River in 1976, more than double any other country.
In Equateur province the 11th EVD outbreak started in June has been declared over on 18 November 2020. The DRC RC is actively involved in the 90 days active surveillance period which will be ended 16 February 2021. In Eastern DRC and also in Equateur, there was continuous support to DRC RC in transition and recovery activities against EVD and other similar outbreaks.
This transition focused on the preparedness/rapid response capacity of the NS (RRT) for an early intervention in case of a resurgence of EVD or another health emergency while also strengthening the capacity of DRC RC to respond to future disasters.
The emergence of more cases could complicate efforts to eradicate , which has infected 23,600 people and killed 681 in Democratic Republic of Congo. A vaccination campaign is expected to start in the first half of this year.