EbolaDRC Ebola cases mount, with in-school infection a new worry

As the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reaches 194 cases and deaths hit 122, a humanitarian group yesterday added a new concern—the virus has now spread within a school. The group also said response efforts were again interrupted by regional violence.

DRC health officials yesterday confirmed 6 new Ebola cases in the latest hot spot of Beni, including 3 deaths, as the number of suspected cases continues to pile up. Of the 194 total cases, 159 are confirmed and 35 are listed as probable.

In addition, a World Health Organization (WHO) official says the epidemic will likely carry well into 2019.

Officials probe 25 suspected cases
The DRC’s health ministry said the 6 new cases in Beni include 3 deaths in the community, a concerning report because it means high levels of exposure to people who cared for the dead. The ministry also noted a death in a previously reported patient.

Health officials are following up on 25 suspected cases, which is up from 20 the day before. The DRC has now reported 29 new cases in just 6 days, or 15% of the total cases in the entire outbreak, which began in August.

CIDRAP notes that the event already ranks as the seventh-largest Ebola outbreak ever. Everyone remembers the colossal 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa, which grew to almost 29,000 cases. But only five other outbreaks have surpassed 200 infections, and they ranged from 224 to 425 cases.

Among them are the very first known Ebola outbreaks. In separate epidemics in 1976, the virus infected at least 284 people in Sudan and 318 in Zaire, which is now the DRC.

The vast majority of new cases in the current DRC outbreak have been in Beni, an area of rebel violence and community resistance to vaccine efforts. Yesterday DRC officials implemented new measures to help slow the outbreak in the region, including making it illegal to harbor suspected Ebola patients and keep them away from Ebola treatment centers.