Abstract
Three genetically-distinct Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks have occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since May 2017: the 2017 Bas-Uele outbreak, the 2018 Equateur outbreak and the 2018-19 North Kivu outbreak. The latest outbreak, currently ongoing, is the second largest EVD outbreak in history, with 1,617 confirmed cases as of 12 May 2019. New clusters continue to emerge despite unprecedented advances in vaccinations, diagnostics and therapeutics. In this Watching Brief, we review key features of all three outbreaks, evaluate vaccination strategy used and critically examine factors that contribute to the North Kivu outbreak’s persistence. The North Kivu outbreak is characterised by multiple issues that hamper disease control measures, including socio-political barriers (armed conflicts and community resistance) and operational deficiencies (ineffective contact tracing and infection control in health facilities). Evidence also suggests possible sexual transmission of EVD by persistently-infected survivors.
Highlights
Feedback from operational stakeholders who manage or respond to outbreaks is that they are often too busy to review literature or obtain relevant background information to assist them with acute response
Zoonotic and human-to-human transmission of Ebola virus (EBOV), subtype Zaire [1,2,3] It was unclear how the first deceased victim contracted the virus, but past outbreaks have been linked to consumption of bush meat, especially non-human primates, and direct contact with infected animals [4]
Five blood samples were sent to the Institut National de Recherché Biomédicale (INRB) laboratory in Kinshasa, two of which tested positive for EBOV using reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)
Summary
Disease outbreak news – 4 August 2018 [Internet]. 9. End of the most recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo [Internet].
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