Ebola arrives in a big city in Congo
At least 85 people have died from the outbreak, which continues to spread in the east of the country
The Ebola epidemic declared on August 1 in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has already claimed 85 fatalities, making it the worst outbreak that this African country has suffered in the last decade, according to the information provided. by the Congolese Ministry of Health, which also announced on Wednesday that the first case occurred in the city of Butembo, of half a million inhabitants, a traditional shopping center with neighboring Uganda.
The cases rise to 124 and the infections continue to occur with special intensity in the town of Beni where a part of the population has refused to collaborate with the authorities, hides sick people and does not participate in vaccination campaigns due to the fear, prejudice and lack of information.
There have been 70% of the last 20 cases confirmed and several violent incidents when health workers have gone to a home to take sick people to treatment centers.
The Congolese authorities have begun a process of dialogue with local authorities to try to combat the rumors that circulate regarding treatment and burials, the main sources of tension with the population.
As in other epidemics, the Red Cross is responsible for managing inhumations safely, which clashes with the customs of the population. Fear has been felt especially in the return to school this week, as many parents have decided not to send their children to school, and in the low attendance of health services.
The vaccination campaign began on August 8 and has already reached 6,134 people, especially health personnel and contacts of confirmed cases. Likewise, 24 patients have received experimental treatments with results still pending evaluation. So far only nine of them have managed to heal.
The epicenter of the current outbreak is in Beni, in the region of North Kivu, which has suffered the presence of armed groups for decades. Precisely this Monday two South African blue helmets of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) were injured as a result of an ambush in the vicinity of this town.
In this sense, the World Health Organization (WHO) said last Friday that the efforts to control the outbreak "seem to be working" although he admitted that there continue to be "substantial risks" due to the possible existence of hidden transmission chains in areas controlled by rebel groups, it said in a statement. In recent months, the killing of civilians in the region has intensified.
To combat the lack of information, UNICEF is active in its prevention and awareness campaign, which has already reached 2.5 million people in seven health zones in the North Kivu and Ituri regions. "More and more communities are now aware of Ebola and how to prevent its spread.
The active participation of the affected communities is key to stopping the spread of the disease, "said Efe, head of UNICEF in the DRC, Gianfranco Rotigliano. The messages of this campaign are launched in four languages through radio, parish meetings, public events and word of mouth. For this they have eight survivors who offer their testimony.
