A new episode of Ebola broke out in the DRC. The disease is circumscribed in the region of Bikoro, on the border with the Republic of Congo. Bikoro is several thousand kilometers from Nigeria, Ghana and Gabon, which have already put in place an emergency plan.
This is the ninth time that the DRC has been affected by this virus since 1976, the first appearance of Ebola in this country of Central Africa. The DRC was very scared but was not concerned by the previous episode, very traumatic for West Africa and threatening to Europe.
In three months, the WHO has released a million dollars to stop the spread of the epidemic in the DRC, a country of 78 million people, bordering nine countries in Central and Eastern Africa. The concern is therefore great among neighbouring countries of a spread of the epidemic from this outbreak detected in the DRC.
The DRC is bordered by Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi and the Republic of Congo.
Several thousand kilometres from the DRC, Nigeria, Ghana and Gabon, have already reacted.
Nigeria:
Since Wednesday, May 9, anyone from the DRC must submit to the health check. A measure that comes with medical aid from Nigeria, the only West African country to have a mobile laboratory for haemorrhagic fevers.
For its part, the Football Federation is reluctant to maintain the friendly match between the two countries on May 28 for health risks: radical measures, which may seem disproportionate, but which measure the fear of epidemics in the country of the most populated in Africa.
This year, some 100 people have already succumbed to the Lassa fever, an Ebola family haemorrhagic fever, which bears the name of the village in the north-east where the disease was identified in 1969.
Ghana:
The Ghana Health Service announced yesterday the introduction of border controls to prevent the entry of Ebola. GHS Executive Director Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare said he received a “serious” warning from WHO.
Gabon:
In Libreville, the Minister of Health, Denise Mekam’ne Edzidzie, reactivated on Wednesday, May 9, the Committee of response against this disease.
During a meeting with public health experts, the minister stressed: “We thought, for the protection of our populations, to bring together all the people who are unfolding around this issue. So, we need to reactivate the Health Awareness Committee on Ebola. ”
Ebola haemorrhagic fever has already struck Gabon. In 1996, the epidemic killed at least 66 people, while in 2001, 11 deaths were recorded.
The most violent Ebola epidemic in history had hit West Africa between late 2013 and 2016, causing more than 11,300 deaths out of 29,000 cases, more than 99% in Guinea, Liberia Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Two experimental vaccines have since proved promising to protect against haemorrhagic fever for at least a year, according to the results of a clinical trial published in October 2017. But the tests, conducted last year in Liberia, are not complete.
