New Ebola virus disease case confirmed in a third DRC health zone

Posted onAuthorIan M Mackay, PhD (EIC)

UPDATE #1

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health (MOH) today announced that 1 of 2 suspected EVD cases in the Wangata Health Zone has tested positive for Ebola virus.[1]

This weekend, two suspected cases of haemorrhagic fever were reported in the health zone of Wangata, one of the health zones of the city of Mbandaka. After analysis, one of the two samples was positive for Ebola virus disease.
-TRANSLATED from [1]

Zoomed in section of the adjacent DRC map highlighting the Wangata Health Zone (purple area) housing ta new EVD confirmed case, just below Mbandaka (Pin4), capital of Équateur Province.

What does it mean?

This is of particular concern as the case reportedly occurred within Mbandaka, the capital of Équateur province and a city of approximately 1 million people.[2]

MSF maps [9] show the city of Mbandaka sitting in the Mbandaka Health Zone, not the Wangata Health Zone so someone is a bit confused.

Now is certainly a good time to have the experimental Ebola virus vaccine (V920) onsite and ready to be distributed to healthcare workers and contacts of cases in a ring vaccination format. This approach encircles cases with vaccinated people to prevent further spread from known foci of infection.[2]

New numbers

Case numbers have now changed again. As at the 15th May:

 

Table from DRC MOH.[1]

  • 44 total EVD cases (includes suspect, probable and confirmed)
  • 2 new suspect cases, 1 each in Bikoro and Wangata health zones
    • 21 suspect cases
    • 20 probable cases
    • 3 confirmed cases
    • 23 deaths (proportion of fatal cases = 52%)

Case numbers are always changing so please use these as a guide only.

This latest turn of events is something to keep a close eye on. When EVD reaches more populated areas and transport hubs, we’ve seen how things can quickly spiral out of control. Hopefully, the fast and collaborative response to date will stay on top of things.

It’s still too early to tell whether this outbreak is under control or not yet.

References…

  1. Special Communication from His Excellency the Minister of Health on May 16, 2018 on the evolution of the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo
    https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=89e5755d2cca4840b1af93176&id=a902d8be0b
  2. Experimental Vaccine Will be Used against Ebola Outbreak in the DRC
    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experimental-vaccine-will-be-used-against-ebola-outbreak-in-the-drc/
  3. Effective Post-Exposure Treatment of Ebola Infection
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17238284
  4. Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector mediates postexposure protection against Sudan Ebola hemorrhagic fever in nonhuman primates
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18385248
  5. Efficacy of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-Ebola Virus Postexposure Treatment in Rhesus Macaques Infected With Ebola Virus Makona
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27496978
  6. Postexposure Treatment of Marburg Virus Infection
    https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/7/10-0159_article
  7. Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector mediates postexposure protection against Sudan Ebola hemorrhagic fever in nonhuman primates
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18385248
  8. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/COD_POP_Equateur_A1L_public_180511v2.pdf

Update

  1. Other reports state that the confirmed case was within Mbandaka rather than the neighbouring Health Zone.

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