Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo continued with a steady transmission intensity this week. Indicators demonstrated the early signs of transmission easing in intensity in some major hotspots, such as Butembo and Katwa. The current hotspots are the health zones of Beni, Mabalako, and Mandima, with some cases being exported from these hotspot areas into unaffected health zones. There is a slight but notable increase in the number of new cases occurring in areas that previously had lower rates of transmission, such as the Komanda, Lubero, and Rwampara/ Bunia health zones. On 30 June, a case who had travelled overland from Beni was confirmed in Ariwara, more than 460 kilometres north of Beni, towards the borders with Uganda and South Sudan. This is the first confirmed case in this health zone, and a response team was deployed from Bunia to investigate and implement public health actions in Ariwara. Uganda and South Sudan have mobilized quickly, building on the preparedness efforts during the last months. Arua district in Uganda shares a border with Ariwara health zone, with high volume of trade and population movement. The Arua District Task Force in Arua mobilized on 2 July to agree on a plan of action, the Ministry of Health (MoH) immediately dispatched the National Rapid Response Team for needs assessment, and the vaccination team from Kasese was also dispatched to Arua district on 3 July to start vacc...
Source: WHO Disease Outbreaks - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: news Source Type: news