DRC - Ebola in Goma - July 13+

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News Health 2 August 2019

Ebola preparations tested as cases rise in Congo’s main eastern city
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Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s densely populated eastern city of Goma rose from one to five this week, raising fears of a wider outbreak of the deadly virus that has already cost more than 1,800 lives in the past 12 months.

Key to containing the spread will be tracing and vaccinating everyone known to have come into contact with the five people infected, and then the contacts of those contacts. A ministry of health presentation seen by The New Humanitarian lists 538 cumulative contacts traced in Goma.

Kate White, emergency medical manager for M?decins Sans Fronti?res, said ongoing efforts to engage Goma communities in the response and to improve awareness of the disease, its signs and symptoms, needs to be “scaled up” quickly.

“The problem is that Goma is massive and… the level of preparedness is not always there,” she said.
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The rising cases here have left aid workers and local residents questioning whether the sprawling lakeside city is prepared for a wider outbreak. Just 54 beds – 30 of those confirmed today – are currently available for Ebola patients, and the general population has varying levels of awareness about the virus and how to prevent it from spreading.
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The first Ebola case in Goma, a preacher travelling from Butembo, was reported in mid-July and prompted the WHO to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – a move designed to galvanise additional funding and international attention.

The latest cases revolve around a now deceased man in his 40s who contracted Ebola in the northeastern province of Ituri before arriving in Goma on 13 July.

The father of 10 – a gold miner – spent five days being treated at home before being taken to a health facility. By then he had already passed on the virus to his one-year-old daughter, his wife, and the nurse that treated him – the first known cases of active transmission inside Goma.
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https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/n...ampaign=social

 

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AUGUST 2, 2019 / 10:39 AM / UPDATED 17 MINUTES AGO

Second Ebola case in Congo's Goma infected several people: government

GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - The second case of Ebola recorded in east Congo?s main city of Goma had a large family including 10 children and managed to infect several people before dying of the hemorrhagic fever, the government?s Ebola response coordinator said on Friday.

Coordinator Jean-Jacques Muyembe also said a sister of the man, a gold miner, who had traveled to Congo?s south Kivu was swiftly identified and brought back to Goma.

But he warned that authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo were only identifying an estimated 50 percent of Ebola cases.

?If we continue on that basis, this epidemic could last two or three years,? he told a news conference in Goma.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...lthNews&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

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Congo Check‏ @CheckCongo 10m10 minutes ago[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]# FactcheckEbola False, there was no fifth confirmed case of # Ebola in # Goma or death of the third case as many have claimed. Accuracy of Dr @ MTamfum (Photo @ kabumba_justin )[/FONT]

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Ebola in DRC: seven suspected cases transferred from South Kivu to Goma

Updated on
August 02, 2019 at 18:00
by AFP @ 2019 AFP

Seven relatives of the gold miner who died on Ebola in Goma on Wednesday in the neighboring province of South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were brought back to the city and placed under "surveillance", according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In Birava, in South Kivu province (east), a woman close to a gold digger and her six children from Goma had been quarantined with other relatives. All were then vaccinated against Ebola.

All "were vaccinated and brought back to Goma, we put them in a hotel last night (Thursday) and today (Friday) we put them in an apartment to keep them under surveillance," said Dr. Boubacar Diallo, Coordinator in charge of Ebola surveillance for WHO, questioned Friday by AFP. "So far none has any symptoms," he added.

They were "transferred to Goma for good Ebola management by the WHO," said Dr. Ciza Nuru, medical director of the Birava hospital.

A total of 40 people were vaccinated in Birava, a locality located 30 km north of Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, according to Dr. Cizu, who believes that "the danger is not averted" in Birava .
In Goma, where the goldsmith died of Ebola, one of his daughters and his wife infected with the virus were interned at the Ebola treatment center of the city of two million people hospital , according to the Congolese authorities.

"Three vaccination teams are at work in the field," according to Dr. Boubacar Diallo.

"We have already identified 282 cases" in contact with "three people infected in the same family (deceased gold digger), and almost all high-risk contacts have been identified," he said.
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https://afrique.tv5monde.com/information/ebola-en-rdc-sept-cas-suspects-transferes-du-sud-kivu-goma

 

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Goma-Ebola: "the two patients are getting better and have started to feed themselves"

Sunday, August 4th, 2019 - 19:23

Active case research has intensified in Goma, there is no new positive case. The other good news is at the Ebola Treatment Center where both patients are doing better.

"The situation here in Goma is relatively calm. Both cases, the mother and daughter, who were under treatment are getting better and better. This morning, they began to feed themselves. It's a good sign. I think that in the coming days, they will even be able to leave the treatment center, "said Dr. Muyembe, this Sunday, August 4.

Active case research is continuing and suspects may be released as early as Monday, August 5th.

"As you know, we want to track all suspicious cases as scientifically as possible. For now, we have 15 suspected cases that are at CTE to achieve the results. We will have these results tomorrow morning. They can be released all, "he added.

Also on Sunday, Dr. Muyembe sensitized some churches in Goma before going to Beni Monday: "I sent the message to understand how the virus is transmitted and how to avoid it. We seek the collaboration and the involvement of the population. I was happy that pastors and priests get involved. "


https://actualite.cd/2019/08/04/gom...mieux-en-mieux-et-ont-commence-se-nourrir-par

 

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Ebola in Goma: "We are happy to see that there is no new case," says Dr. Michel Yao

Posted on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 12:03 | Edited on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 14:45

"In the city of Goma, we are pleased to see that seven days after the two cases that came out of the second case, there is no new case," said Friday, August 9, Dr. Michel Yao, head of operations emergency response for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa and coordinator of the Ebola response for WHO.

Since Friday, August 2, the city of Goma in North Kivu has not recorded any new cases of Ebola.

"All high-risk contacts from old cases have already been vaccinated. So we hope that Goma can be limited to these cases, " hopes Dr. Michel Yao.

According to him, the teams are working to ensure that the capital of North Kivu province is not affected by a new case of Ebola.

"Now, the other approach is to make sure the city of Goma is not re-infected. It must also be ensured that at the exit or entry points of Goma there is an effective medical check-up 24 hours a day and that the population can adhere to these controls, because sometimes there is is reluctant at this level , " continues Dr. Yao.

He also announces a decrease of cases in the city of Beni, current focus of the epidemic.

"Today the situation that concerns us is in Beni, the previous two weeks we had a decrease of nearly 40% of cases which shows a breakthrough," said Dr. Michel Yao.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2019/08/...ureux-de-constater-quil-ny-pas-de-nouveau-cas

 

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Ebola: two patients healed in Goma

Posted on Tue, 13/08/2019 - 12:32 | Edited on Tue, 13/08/2019 - 12:32

Two Ebola patients, who had been in care for almost two weeks in the Goma Ebola Treatment Center (ETC), were declared cured. They returned to their homes on Tuesday 13 August.

The response noted that it is thanks to the work of surveillance and the entire response chain that the management of these two patients has been successful, while the response teams have been able to identify and vaccinate all of them. their contacts, until today there is not one more case of illness.

For Dr. Muyembe, the healing of these patients is a message to the entire population of Goma and elsewhere, that Ebola is dangerous but also curable, provided that the entire population is mobilized.

"These cases were detected very quickly. The husband was infected, he had ten days at home and his wife and son were contaminated and immediately the response teams have detected these cases, brought them here to the treatment center. We have given the necessary treatment that is effective and here in a short time both are cured. Ebola kills quickly and Ebola heals quickly. That's the message. We will also protect the city of Goma through gate surveillance. People who come from Beni, Butembo must be carefully examined , " promised Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe.

After the ceremony, the response team and its partners accompanied the ex-patients in their community to Kiziba district, Munigi chieftaincy, where they took the opportunity to sensitize the entire population of this area.

"May the Lord be praised, I thank the Lord very much. I was sick of Ebola with my child, but God has just healed me. My brothers, we must not doubt. Ebola exists, " said the healed person, the wife of the second Ebola patient who had been registered in the city of Goma. No other case has been detected since then.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2019/08/1...es-gueris-goma

 

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DRC-Ebola: protest against the response teams reported in Goma

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 - 12:32

A strong tension is observed this Tuesday, August 13, 2019 in the district Majengo, north of Goma in the commune of Karisimbi. At the base, some angry residents are protesting the arrival of a response team at a clinic where a woman who came from Kiwanja in Rutshuru territory died.

"Young people barricaded the road from the three-lantern entrance to Majengo before reaching Buhene. They attack any Land Cruiser vehicle thinking they have teams on board. They say that Ebola is a business imported from Beni-Butembo to Goma. It is now that I have just seen elements of the force of the order to go there, maybe to calm my situation. ", Testifies a resident who is at the place of the demonstration.

"I heard a few shots," the same source added. These protests come as two Ebola cases have been declared cured and have left the Ebola treatment center in Goma.

At his last press conference, before resigning from the health minister, Dr. Oly Ilunga demanded that tests be done on all the deaths that will be recorded in the city of Goma and about to prevent the spread of the disease. Ebola virus disease. The city of Goma recorded the first case of Ebola on July 14th.

Jonathan Kombi

https://actualite.cd/2019/08/13/rdc...n-contre-les-equipes-de-riposte-signalee-goma

 

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What hope looks like

Congolese mother and child’s recovery offers hope in Ebola fight

15 August 2019

WHO/Peter Graaff

In the fight to stop the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo there are many dark days. Tuesday 13 August was not one of them.

Blinking in the bright Goma sunshine, Mama Esperance and baby Ebenezer did not look like a pair who only days earlier were on the brink of despair and death.

Their cases (the third and fourth in Goma) were detected quickly. Esperance Nabintu’s husband was the second case detected in the city of nearly 2 million people.

He was a miner who returned home from Ituri seeking care for an illness he did not know was Ebola. And, equally unknowing, Esperance and her baby were infected.

Unfortunately, Esperance’s husband died but, just ten days after confirmation of infection, both his wife and baby recovered and are in good health.

“Today is a day of celebration because we have two people here who have survived,” Dr Bachir Mbodj, Deputy Incident manager, WHO DRC Ebola response in Goma told the gathering of health workers, Ebola response partners, government officials and friends who had come to celebrate their release from the Ebola Treatment Centre at Goma Hospital on August 13.

“Mama Esperance and her son are alive because they came early for treatment. Sadly, Mrs. Esperance’s husband came too late, and could not be saved,” said Dr Bachir. “It is essential that everyone in the community knows that rapid detection of Ebola virus disease and early treatment saves lives.”

Both Esperance and her son were offered life-saving treatment, including drugs that are improving survival rates.
Ebola hasn't been cured yet, but these two drugs are improving survival rates and this news will provide hope for communities affected by Ebola.

The effective drugs are a tool in our toolbox against Ebola. “But it doesn’t in itself stop Ebola," says Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. What will stop Ebola is … good surveillance, good infection prevention and control, good community engagement, excellent vaccination and the use of these therapeutics in the most effective way possible, in safe and humane Ebola treatment units. It’s not one answer. It’s many things.”

With the recovery of Esperance Nabintu and her baby Ebenezer, there are currently no cases of Ebola in the city of Goma.
However, the risk of national spread remains very high as the population in affected areas is highly mobile.

With surveillance teams checking numerous alerts each week, WHO continues to work to ensure that any case of Ebola in Goma is identified and responded to immediately.

Efforts to prepare Goma for Ebola include:

• More than 5000 health workers have been vaccinated in Goma
• Health centres have been provided with training and equipment to improve infection prevention and control.
• Safe and dignified burial teams have been trained and equipped, and community awareness campaigns have been conducted.
• Two Ebola Treatment Centres run by the Ministry of Health and M?decins Sans Fronti?res are operational.
• Screening at border crossings in Goma has been reinforced and 24-hour monitoring implemented at Goma airport.

https://www.who.int/news-room/featur...ope-looks-like

 

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Ebola: Goma, 40 days without new case

Posted on Wed, 28/08/2019 - 13:30 | Changed on Wed, 28/08/2019 - 13:30

This Tuesday, August 28, the city of Goma totals more than 40 days without registering a new case of Ebola virus disease, reports the provincial coordination of the response, in its epidemiological report, published Tuesday, August 27.

In contrast, more than 10 cases were recorded in the Pinga Health Zone.

But given the persistence of notifications of new cases in the northern areas of the province, the provincial coordinator of the response, Steeve Ahuka still calls for vigilance.

The most recent case was reported in Goma on July 14, 2019, and on August 17 for the Pinga Health Zone in Walikale territory. But the Ebola outbreak is still far from being under control, says Professor Steeve Ahuka, provincial coordinator of the Ebola response. According to him, it is not yet time to speak of "control" when the areas of Lubero and Beni, in particular, continue to register new cases.

For him, with the intense movement of people in the province, vigilance remains de rigueur.

Meanwhile, the response teams continue to work intensively for increased surveillance in Goma and health zones all around.

New cases registered in Beni

WHO in the DRC has announced on Twitter that six new cases of Ebola have been confirmed: two in Beni, one in Katwa, one in Kalunguta, one in Komanda, one in Mwenga. The same source indicates that Beni, Mandima and Kalunguta are the three main hot spots of the epidemic, accounting respectively for 23% (56/196), 12% (24/196) and 11% (21/196) of the confirmed cases. -and-one last days.

As of August 27, there were 2,983 cases (2878 confirmed and 105 probable), and 1994 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic in August 2018.

It should also be noted that 891 survivors have been registered to date and patients still undergoing treatment.

https://www.radiookapi.net/2019/08/28/actualite/sante/ebola-goma-40-jours-sans-nouveau-cas