ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 9 October 2021: On 8 October 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene, and Prevention (MoH) reported a confirmed death of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Beni health zone, North Kivu province. This comes barely five months after the end of the most recent outbreak that was detected in the same province.
The index case is a 3-year-old male, child who died on 6 October in a local health facility after presenting with haemorrhagic symptoms. Samples collected, tested positive for Ebola virus at the Goma reference laboratory.
“We see this with great concern as we are going to fight against multiple disease outbreaks in DRC, including, cholera, monkeypox, yellow fever, meningitis and EVD, on top of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” said Dr John Nkengasong, the Director of Africa CDC.
Health teams decontaminated the affected health facility and 100 contacts have so far been identified. The provincial and zonal rapid response team have deployed to the affected area to conduct active case finding and identify additional contacts.
In response to this new EVD case, the African Union Commission (AUC) has been informed of the outbreak and is ready to offer a comprehensive support of all AU organs. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has repurposed five (5) of the existing Africa CDC emergency response team of experts in Goma and Kinshasa to support the ongoing EVD response effort of the Government; and is working on deployment of additional technical assistance from the Headquarter. AUC/Africa CDC will continue to closely monitor the situation and will work with the Government of DRC to deploy more emergency response support team of experts, supplies and equipment as needed. Africa CDC will work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate and align emergency response activities across the region.
About the Africa CDC: The Africa CDC mission is to strengthen Africa’s public health institution’s capacities, capabilities and partnerships to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks based on science, policy, and data-driven interventions and programmes. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org
About the African Union: The African Union spearheads Africa’s development and integration in close collaboration with African Union Member States, the Regional Economic Communities and African citizens. AU Vision: to accelerate progress towards an integrated, prosperous and inclusive Africa, at peace with itself, playing a dynamic role in the continental and global arena, effectively driven by an accountable, efficient and responsive Commission. Learn more at: http://www.au.int/en/
