Gabon & Congo Kinshasa
Ebola outbreak in Congo Kinshasa and Gabon?

afrol News, 9 December - The lethal Ebola virus seems to strike again, this time in Gabon and Congo Kinshasa (DRC), where a total of 45 people have died during the last days of internal bleeding, typical for a viral hemorrhagic fever. Experts have so far confirmed one Ebola case in Gabon.

According to a statement by the spokesman of the Gabonese Ministry of Health, made today in Libreville, epidemiologists from the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed the existence of Ebola virus in one of the persons that had died of internal bleeding in the Gabonese interior Ogooué Ivindo Province. 

WHO on Tuesday had received reports of 7 deaths in an outbreak of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever in Ogooué Ivindo Province in the northeastern part of Gabon. An expert team from the Gabonese Ministry of Health and the Centre International de Recherchés Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF), supported by military medical personnel and the WHO sub-Regional Epidemic Response Team, immediately took off to the province for field investigations. 

The preliminary results published today in Libreville confirmed the worst possible - there seems to be an outbreak of the lethal Ebola virus in the poorly accessible Gabonese interior. Viral hemorrhagic fever - caused by the Marburg virus, Ebola and others - causes internal bleeding leading to death in 50-90% of all clinically-ill cases, depending on the strain. 

According to the Gabonese government, the assumed epidemic already has started its spread. While there were 7 reported deaths on Tuesday, there are now reported 17 deaths related to the virus in the Gabonese village of Mekambo, including one local nurse. An outbreak in the same region in 1996 killed an estimated 66 people.

In another possible outbreak, in (not neighbouring) Congo Kinshasa DRC), the existence of Ebola has so far not been confirmed. So far, reports confirm the death of 28 people by an unknown virus in the western province of Kasai. Another 55 persons reportedly are infected.

A team of experts from the Congolese Ministry of Health and the organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has arrived the affected village of Mbisangandu, where they are to "establish the nature of the outbreak."

While MSF suspects the outbreak of some kind of viral hemorrhagic fever (Marburg virus, Ebola, etc.), the Congolese Ministry of Health is already ruling out the possibility. According to Ministry spokesman Mapunza Mamieza, "several of the treated patients have reacted positively to antibiotics," which does not have an effect on viral diseases such as Ebola. 

Also the Congolese Kasai Province has earlier been affected by Ebola, which mainly strikes in the tropical rainforest zones of Central Africa. In one of the major outbreaks ever, in 1995, 315 cases of Ebola were registered in the Kasai town of Kikwit, of which 244 were fatal. 

According to MSF, yet another case in Congo Kinshasa, in Watsa in the country's northeast, is causing concern. In Watsa, "one case of suspected hemorrhagic fever was identified," the doctors' organisation reported. It was however "not clear yet" which virus was causing this new outbreak. 

Ebola is a highly contagious disease, which causes its victims to bleed to death. Ebola is often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, limited kidney and liver functions, and both internal and external bleeding. Eventually, this can cause enough blood loss to cause shock and respiratory problems, leading quickly in many cases to death. 

No specific treatment or vaccine exists for Ebola haemorrhagic fever, according to the WHO. Severe cases require intensive supportive care, as patients are frequently dehydrated and in need of intravenous fluids. The last Ebola outbreak, earlier this year in Uganda, however showed that quick respond from health authorities and intensive treatment significantly reduced the fatality rate of the disease.

Sources: Based on WHO, MSF and afrol archives 

© afrol.com. Texts and graphics may be reproduced freely, under the condition that their origin is clearly referred to, see Conditions.    You can contact us at mail@afrol.com