Fighting Ebola again

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

An Ebola outbreak that started in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has piled on to the problems of a country that has faced years of violence and unrest.

NICK EICHER, HOST: This Ebola strain has a very high rate of death, in some places killing every other person infected. So far, more than 130 people have died, hundreds more have become ill. 

The strain itself is rare … that’s complicating the response because treating it means going back to the basics.

WORLD’s Africa reporter Onize Oduah reports.

ONIZE ODUAH: In Congo’s Ituri province, shops and supermarkets have set up the familiar handwashing stations, including hand sanitizers for customers. This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in Congo since 1976.

Health authorities in Congo first confirmed the outbreak in Ituri on Friday.

Ebola is a highly contagious virus that spreads through bodily fluids. The virus can cause fever, fatigue, vomiting, and bleeding. The current strain, known as the Bundibugyo variant, has no approved medications or vaccines.

Samuel Roger Kamba is Congo’s health minister.

ROGER KAMBA: [FRENCH] I would like to remind you that this strain has a very high fatality rate, which can reach as high as 50 percent. So the sooner we can treat you, the sooner we can resolve the issue.

He says this variant has a fatality rate as high as 50 percent.

Health authorities have confirmed infections in the eastern city of Goma and west of the country in Kinshasa, the country’s capital. Neighboring Uganda has also confirmed infections.

Raphael Muhima Kasali resides in Goma.

RAPHAEL KASALI: [FRENCH] [I am] afraid, like any human being, because you know we have children at school, and they still come into contact with a lot of people, and we don’t really know who they might be around or play with. Once they come home, they can infect the whole family.

He says he is afraid because he has children in school who could bring home the infection.

At least one American missionary doctor has also contracted the virus. Dr. Peter Stafford was treating patients in northeast Congo when he got infected. The United States is working to move Stafford and other high-risk Americans out of the country.

The World Health Organization on Sunday declared the ongoing outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. That means it’s considered a public health risk to other nations, but doesn’t yet rise to a pandemic level. 

Relief teams have sprung into action.

Robert Batusa is the program director of the World Relief team in Congo. He says activities and business operations have slowed in Goma.

ROBERT BATUSA: There are very few people on the roads. In the markets there are few, fewer people than usual around this time.

The outbreak comes as ongoing violence could threaten the medical response. Late in April, armed rebels killed at least 69 people in Ituri province.

And in Goma, a rebel group known as M23 still controls the city after a rebel offensive last year displaced hundreds of thousands of people. But Batusa says health workers can still access many of the affected areas.

BATUSA: If the epidemic spreads beyond the various towns into areas that are controlled by big rebel groups and that have not been accessible for a very long time, it’s going to be very difficult to control it.

Health authorities have deployed response teams and emergency support. Doctors Without Borders has said it is working with the Health Ministry to assess needs and respond.

Batusa was also involved in the response in Ituri during the last Ebola outbreak. This time, he says they’re trying to reinforce the strategies and messaging that helped the last time.

The World Relief team so far is supporting health facilities with protective equipment. They are also working through their 38 partner churches to assist more people.

BATUSA: We have sent all preventive messages that have been shared so far by the Ministry of Health to our different sub offices to reinforce infection prevention and control measures like hand washing station, temperature screening at all our sub offices and also in those groups where they meet.

But without any vaccine or medications for the current outbreak, Batusa says much of their effort will rely on education and community engagement.

BATUSA: Passing on the messages about hand washing, how to handle the dead in the community, breaking the cultural norms of handling the sick and the dead.

That’s this week’s World Tour, I’m Onize Oduah in Abuja, Nigeria.

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