DRC’s Healthcare System Under Greater Pressure After New Ebola Outbreak
By: Julian Mok
DRC: A Trip to the Front Lines of the Fight Against Ebola. Photo courtesy of The World Bank.
Lexington — The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a deadly combination of disease outbreak. The newest outbreak of Ebola in the northwestern city of Mbandaka adds further pressure on the country’s fragile healthcare system that is already fighting COVID-19, measles and an existing Ebola outbreak in the North Kivu Region.
On June 1st, the DRC declared an Ebola outbreak in the port city of Mbandaka. This provincial capital is 750 miles west of the existing Ebola in North Kivu and is home to 1.2 million. Sitting at the confluence of the Congo and Ruki River, the port city is normally bustling with trade and transport but has seen less traffic since the nationwide lockdown.
It is unclear how the first four cases of Ebola emerged in Mbandaka, however it is certain that the five ensuing cases were people who came in direct contact with the initial patients.
Officials and healthcare workers have moved quickly to stop the outbreak. Contact tracing is underway, supplies are being transferred from North Kivu and medical personnel are moving to the port city to fight the disease. Provincial Governor Bobo Bolumbu urged the population to remain calm and maintain good personal hygiene and avoid physical contact with others. This city is no stranger to Ebola. In 2018, Mbandaka was hit with an Ebola outbreak that was quickly clamped down due to a rapid and well-orchestrated response.
This time, however, could be a different story. The country is facing several disease outbreaks, including a dwindling Ebola outbreak in the east, a country-wide measles epidemic and COVID-19, which many experts fear will result in a “competition for resources.” The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said in the statement, "This is a reminder that COVID-19 is not the only health threat people face. Although much of our attention is on the pandemic, WHO is continuing to monitor and respond to many other health emergencies."
COVID-19 has affected seven of the DRC’s 25 provinces and resulted in 3,195 reported cases, although health experts believe the number is much higher.
Testing remains extremely limited. Measles has been the major killer with 370,000 confirmed cases and 6,779 deaths since 2019. The Ebola outbreak in the North Kivu Region broke out in 2018, resulting in over 3,000 cases and 2,243 deaths according to the WHO. There have been no new cases in 21 days, but 42 days of no new cases are required before an Ebola outbreak can be declared finished.
Ebola is an extremely deadly virus with a fatality rate of 25-90% depending on the strain. Despite many effective vaccines, the virus continues to mutate and remains endemic to Africa’s tropical rainforest. It is easily transmitted through bodily fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever accompanied in severe cases by vomiting and extensive internal bleeding.
In the past, ongoing violence and local distrust of health officials and foreign aid have only complicated the Ebola outbreak response.
Officials are hoping that the relatively stable Mbandaka will allow health workers to conduct effective contact tracing and vaccinations in order to stop the disease in its tracks. With the many outbreaks that raging in the country, now more than ever the country will attempt to overcome some of the healthcare system’s inadequacies to reduce the number of lives lost to Ebola.