Ebola in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: One Health approach to infectious disease control

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing its tenth outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), in North-Kivu and Ituri provinces. This is the second most deadly EVD outbreak in history, after the one that occurred in West Africa in 2014. The DRC Ministry of Health (MoH), supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and a range of regional and international partners, are implementing EVD response plans in these affected areas such as screening of suspect cases at points of entry, case detection, contact tracing, laboratory testing, case management and infection prevention and control, safe and dignified burials, ring vaccination (this involves vaccination of infected individuals, direct contacts of infected individuals and contacts of their contacts), and therapeutics, community mobilization and free access to healthcare services. Despite these efforts, there has been a sharp rise in the number of confirmed cases within the identified affected areas, and due to a number of challenges unique to DRC, there has been an expansion in the geographical extent of transmission. The significance of the proximity of these regions to wildlife and the Virunga National Park is questionable in the EVD transmission dynamics. The close interaction between human, animal, and environmental factors, in combination with high population movement due to regular rebel attacks in these regions, suggest the need for the integration of the One Health approach in the holistic response plans for control and prevention of EVD. This paper seeks to highlight the implications and importance of a One Health-based approach into the infectious diseases control program implementation in DRC.

Safe and dignified burial of a deceased from a highly contagious infectious disease ebolavirus: Socio-cultural and anthropological implications in the Eastern DR Congo

“…Only a few cases of EVD were nosocomial, while the transmission of most reported cases in the community were by taking care of the sick or by handling corpses during traditional funerals. Promotion of these practices raised community resistance [ 3 , 4 ]. This resistance was due to misunderstandings of public health practices such as isolation and safe burials.…”

Preliminary report of drive-through screening COVID-19 screening process in a large suburban community

“…Such screening took place in Africa during the Ebola crisis of 2014–2016. One hospital, Redemption Hospital (Liberia), created an out-of-hospital screening program to decrease patients entering the hospital and identify patients at risk for Ebola [ 8 , 9 ].…”

The Double Burden of Ebola and COVID-19 Viral Infections and the Readiness for Safe Surgical Care Provision in Uganda and the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: an Online Cross-sectional Survey

“…With a total of 148,999,876 cases confirmed worldwide (3,290,637 confirmed in Africa) as of 28 th April 2021, COVID-19 compounded an already complicated situation in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with both armed conflict and the highly contagious Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak (from August 1, 2018 to of June 21, 2020 in the Kivu). A total of 3,317 confirmed cases and a death toll of 2,287 patients including healthcare workers (HCWs) and two fatalities registered in the neighboring Uganda was reported [4,5]. The 11 th EVD outbreak was declared in the Equator Province in the western DRC last year registering 130 cases including 55 deaths [6].…”