An Italian surgeon who has been in contact with Ebola-infected people in Ituri in northeastern Congo-Kinshasa is in quarantine in Rome, Italy's health ministry announced this week.
The surgeon reportedly performed emergency surgery on a child who had been injured by an exploding grenade. The conflict-torn area is also believed to be the epicenter of the new Ebola outbreak - and during the operation it emerged that the blast-injured child was likely also infected.
Several of the confirmed Ebola deaths so far have been children. They are the most vulnerable and nearly half of residents in the volatile region are younger than 15 years old.
“Could have lasted”
Ebola is spreading much faster this time, emphasizes Congolese doctor Babou Rukengeza, who leads Save the Children's efforts in the country. He has worked on several previous outbreaks, but believes that Congo-Kinshasa was forgotten and was less prepared.
Before the major cuts in aid, healthcare here was strong enough to contain the outbreak within one or two hospital districts. Now there are reports of infection in 14 districts, he tells TT by phone.
The outbreak is clearly being exacerbated by the humanitarian situation.
The country's long-running conflict has escalated with regular fighting between factions, slowing aid efforts. Up to a million people are in densely populated camps in Ituri province alone. There is widespread hunger and a lack of water. People have been urged to wash their hands with sand.
"That's our big fear: that we'll have a case inside one of the camps. Then we'll have a big problem," says Rukengeza.
Crisis upon crisis upon crisis
The infection is feared to have been spreading for a long time in secret, in areas where there is great distrust and the disease is often dismissed as malaria or a hoax. Of the more than 250 suspected Ebola deaths, only a small number have been confirmed so far.
When it comes to the children, we do everything we can to ensure they are in a protected environment, says Babou Rukengeza.
A lot of work is directed at schools, where children first learn the importance of washing hands and avoiding touching others.
At the same time, we try to make them feel no anxiety, to understand that we are there to protect them.
As with previous Ebola outbreaks, it is feared that many children will become orphans.
"And it's not just this very large Ebola outbreak. At the same time, there are outbreaks of cholera and measles. This is not a very good place to be right now," says Rukengeza.
Ebola virus is an RNA virus that causes hemorrhagic fever. There are six variants of Ebola virus - four of which cause disease in humans.
The Bundibugyo virus variant is behind the current outbreak in Congo-Kinshasa. There are no vaccines or specific treatments for it, making the situation particularly challenging.
Ebola virus is transmitted between people through bodily fluids. Sexual transmission also occurs.
The illness occurs rapidly with flu-like symptoms such as high fever, headache, sore throat, stomach and intestinal symptoms and muscle pain. At the end of the course of the disease, bleeding may occur on the skin and in internal organs.
The mortality rate is estimated to be 50-90 percent in outbreaks in affected African countries. With access to adequate intensive care, the mortality rate is likely to be significantly lower.
Sources: Public Health Agency of Sweden, CDC
