A new case of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), just three days before the country expected to declare an end to the outbreak, the WHO said on Friday.
The new case was confirmed in Beni, a community that had been a center of the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.
It had been nearly 42 days without a case, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that DR Congo’s declaration had been planned for Monday.
Photo: AP
“We have been preparing for and expecting more cases,” he said, reflecting the caution that mixed with optimism in recent days.
“I am sad,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in a tweet.
Health workers in the DR Congo had been awaiting the end of one global public health emergency — Ebola — while bracing for the arrival of another: the coronavirus. Already, two coronavirus cases have been reported in Beni.
“We’ll just have to go for another 42 days,” or the required period of time without a case for the Ebola outbreak to be declared over, WHO Health Emergencies Program executive director Mike Ryan said.
“Maybe that’s our lesson for COVID-19: There is no exit strategy until you’re in control of the situation,” Ryan said. “You must always be ready to start again. Never be surprised.”
The Ebola outbreak has claimed more than 2,260 lives — second to the 2014 to 2016 outbreak in West Africa.
The current outbreak declared in August 2018 has occurred in especially challenging conditions amid deadly rebel attacks, community suspicion and some of the world’s weakest infrastructure in remote areas. Some Ebola responders were attacked and killed.
Health workers had already been turning their Ebola messaging and other efforts to fighting COVID-19.
“This is a devastating development for the communities in eastern [DR Congo] who are also under threat from the coronavirus outbreak, in addition to ongoing conflict and displacement,” International Rescue Committee regional vice president Kate Moger said.
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