2017 Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola virus outbreak

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 May 2017 as having one Ebola-related death.[4][5]

Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola outbreak 2017
Initial case: 22 April 2017[1]
Ended: 1 July 2017[2]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Confirmed cases5[3]
Probable cases3[3]
Deaths4[3]
Democratic Republic of the Congo (orthographic projection)

As of 8 June 2017, there were five confirmed cases and three probable cases. Of these, four survived and four died.[6] The affected areas of the DRC are Mabongo (one confirmed), Ngayi (one probable), and Nambwa (four confirmed and two probable) in Likati health zone.[6] According to the WHO, "Modelling suggests the risk of further cases is currently low but not negligible.... As of ... [8 June], 83% of simulated scenarios predict no further cases in the next 30 days."[6]

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Ebola ... is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species. Ebola can cause disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees)." Ebola was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in the DRC.[7] More than 11,300 people died in the 2013 to 2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.[8]

According to the WHO's "Global Health Observatory", the DRC's population in 2015 was 77,267,000.[9] On 1 July 2017, DRC Minister of Public Health, Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, declared that the country had passed a 42-day period with no new recorded cases, and therefore the outbreak was over.[2][10][11] A subsequent outbreak of Ebola was declared by WHO on 8 May 2018, in the northwest Province of Équateur.[12]

Epidemiology

The first "situation report" from the WHO on 15 May 2017 listed 19 suspected cases and 3 deaths.[13] The first person to request treatment was a 39-year-old male.[13]

On 16 May, the WHO indicated that there had been 21 suspected cases and 3 deaths. Approximately 400 additional individuals were being monitored in the same region of the DRC.[14] On 17 May, WHO said that the number of individuals being monitored had risen to about 416,[15] while the following day, the number of confirmed and suspected cases had risen to 29.[16] As of 24 May, 520 individuals were reported to be on the contact list to monitor their health status. Of those, 226 had completed 21 days of monitoring.[17] As of 27 May, 30 cases had been reclassified as not Ebola-related.[18]

Responses

Organizations

On 13 May 2017, Doctors Without Borders indicated that they would send a team to the most recently affected area in the DRC.[19]

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, indicated that 300,000 doses of the experimental Ebola vaccine were available if needed.[1] On 28 May, it was reported that the DRC had authorized use of the vaccine.[20]

Nearby countries

As of 8 June 2017, the WHO does not recommend any restrictions of travel and trade in relation to this outbreak.[6] The following nine countries have instituted entry screening at airports and ports of entry: Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[6] Rwanda has issued travel advisories to avoid unnecessary travel to the DRC.[6] Kenya and Rwanda have implemented information checking on arrival for passengers with a travel history from or through the DRC.[6] According to the WHO, countries have the right to implement these measures.[6]

On 20 May, the news media reported Rwanda's closure of its border with the DRC for passengers coming from affected areas in the DRC.[17] On 23 May, the WHO confirmed that Rwanda is denying entry to visitors with fever who have been to those areas.[17] Under Article 43 of the International Health Regulations (2005),[21] the WHO considers these actions to be "additional health measures ... that significantly interfere with international traffic".[17] As of 8 June the WHO is attempting to obtain and review Rwanda's public health rationale and relevant scientific information for implementing these measures.[6]

Virology
Further information: Ebola virus disease
Ebola virus - electron micrograph

The sub-type Zaire ebolavirus has been confirmed in the current outbreak,[22] from the family Filoviridae.[23] It is a single stranded RNA virus, with a 60-90 percent mortality rate (the highest among the strains).[24]

An unusually high mortality has been reported in the local pig population. An investigation into potential causes is being considered.[17]

Previous and subsequent outbreaks in the DRC
Further information: List of Ebola outbreaks

The virus took its name from the Ebola River near the village in Zaire (now the DRC) where the first documented outbreak occurred.[25] Multiple documented outbreaks of Ebola virus disease have occurred in the DRC since 1976,[26] with the eleven outbreaks that have occurred summarised in the table below.

Timeline of Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) since 1976
V・T
Date		CountryMajor locationOutbreak informationSource
StrainCasesDeathsCFR
Aug 1976ZaireYambukuEBOV31828088%[27]
Jun 1977ZaireTandalaEBOV11100%[28][29]
May–Jul 1995ZaireKikwitEBOV31525481%[30]
Aug–Nov 2007Democratic Republic of the CongoKasai-OccidentalEBOV26418771%[31]
Dec 2008–Feb 2009Democratic Republic of the CongoKasai-OccidentalEBOV321445%[32]
Jun–Nov 2012Democratic Republic of the CongoOrientaleBDBV773647%[28]
Aug–Nov 2014Democratic Republic of the CongoTshuapaEBOV664974%[33]
May–Jul 2017Democratic Republic of the CongoLikatiEBOV8450%[34]
Apr–Jul 2018Democratic Republic of the CongoÉquateur ProvinceEBOV543361%[35]
Aug 2018–June 2020Democratic Republic of the CongoKivuEBOV3,4702,28066%[36]
June–Nov 2020Democratic Republic of the CongoÉquateur ProvinceEBOV1305542%[37]

See also

References
  1. "Ebola outbreak reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo". PBS NewsHour. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  2. "REFILE-Congo declares Ebola outbreak over after four deaths| News by Country| Reuters". Reuters. July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. "External Situation Report 26" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  4. "Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, Minister of Public Health, announces an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Likati district, Bas-Uélé Province (northern DRC) following confirmation by the National Biomedical Research Institute". Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  5. Beavers, Olivia (14 May 2017). "Second Ebola case in Congo confirmed". TheHill. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. "Ebola Virus Disease Democratic Republic of Congo" (PDF). WHO. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  7. "About Ebola Virus Disease". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. "Democratic Republic of Congo confirms new Ebola outbeak". The Raw Story. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  9. "Democratic Republic of the Congo". World Health Organization. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  10. "Congo declares end to Ebola outbreak after 4 deaths". ABC News. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. "Democratic Republic of the Congo Declaration of the end of Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo" (PDF). WHO.int. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  12. "New Ebola outbreak declared in Democratic Republic of the Congo". World Health Organization. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  13. "External Situation Report 1" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  14. "External Situation Report 2" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  15. "External Situation Report 3" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  16. "External Situation Report 4" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. "External Situation Report 11" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  18. "External Situation Report 14" (PDF). Regional Office for Africa. Ebola Virus Disease−Democratic Republic of the Congo. World Health Organization. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  19. "Ebola Confirmed in DRC, MSF to Launch Emergency Intervention". www.doctorswithoutborders.org. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  20. "Congo approves use of Ebola vaccination to fight outbreak". Reuters. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  21. "International Health Regulation". WHO. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  22. "Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo". World Health Organization. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  23. Kuhn, Jens H.; Becker, Stephan; Ebihara, Hideki; Geisbert, Thomas W.; Johnson, Karl M.; Kawaoka, Yoshihiro; Lipkin, W. Ian; Negredo, Ana I.; Netesov, Sergey V. (14 May 2017). "Proposal for a revised taxonomy of the family Filoviridae: classification, names of taxa and viruses, and virus abbreviations". Archives of Virology. 155 (12): 2083–2103. doi:10.1007/s00705-010-0814-x. ISSN 0304-8608. PMC 3074192. PMID 21046175.
  24. Kadanali, Ayten; Karagoz, Gul (24 April 2015). "An overview of Ebola virus disease". Northern Clinics of Istanbul. 2 (1): 81–86. doi:10.14744/nci.2015.97269. ISSN 2536-4553. PMC 5175058. PMID 28058346.
  25. "Ebola virus disease". Media centre. World Health Organization. May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  26. "Ebola returns: What you need to know about the outbreak in the Congo". Newsweek. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  27. Report of an International Commission (1978). "Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 56 (2): 271–293. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 2395567. PMID 307456.
  28. "Years of Ebola Virus Disease Outbreaks". www.cdc.gov. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  29. Heymann, D. L.; et al. (1980). "Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Tandala, Zaire, 1977–1978". Journal of Infectious Diseases. 142 (3): 372–76. doi:10.1093/infdis/142.3.372. PMID 7441008.
  30. Khan, A. S.; Tshioko, F. K.; Heymann, D. L.; Le Guenno, B.; Nabeth, P.; Kerstiëns, B.; Fleerackers, Y.; Kilmarx, P. H.; Rodier, G. R.; Nkuku, O.; Rollin, P. E.; Sanchez, A.; Zaki, S. R.; Swanepoel, R.; Tomori, O.; Nichol, S. T.; Peters, C. J.; Muyembe-Tamfum, J. J.; Ksiazek, T. G. (1999). "The reemergence of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1995. Commission de Lutte contre les Epidémies à Kikwit". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 179 Suppl 1: S76–86. doi:10.1086/514306. ISSN 0022-1899. PMID 9988168.
  31. "Outbreak news. Ebola virus haemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo--update". Releve Epidemiologique Hebdomadaire. 82 (40): 345–346. 5 October 2007. ISSN 0049-8114. PMID 17918654.
  32. "WHO | End of Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". www.who.int. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  33. "Congo declares its Ebola outbreak over". Reuters. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  34. "Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola virus" (PDF). World Health Organization. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  35. "Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo: Disease outbreak news, 25 July 2018". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  36. "DR Congo's deadliest Ebola outbreak declared over". BBC News. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  37. "UNICEF welcomes end of Ebola outbreak in the Equateur Province of the DRC". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 18 November 2020.

Further reading
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