Ebola virus outbreak returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo: An urgent rising concern

• Published in: Annals of medicine and surgery Vol. 79; p. 103958
• Main Authors: Sun, Jeffrey, Uwishema, Olivier, Kassem, Hadi, Abbass, Mortada, Uweis, Lama, Rai, Anushree, El Saleh, Rayyan, Adanur, Irem, Onyeaka, Helen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Correspondence; Democratic Republic of Congo; DRC; Ebola; Ebola virus; Ebola virus disease; Ebola virus; DRC; Ebola; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ebola virus disease
• ISSN: 2049-0801; 2049-0801
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103958

On April 23, 2022, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced an EVD outbreak after discovering 2 confirmed cases and identifying 267 contacts. With collaboration from the WHO, the MoH are taking many interventions to prevent further expansion of this outbreak. Forty-six years ago, the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the DRC. Since then, 13 outbreaks of EVD have occurred in the DRC and, in 2020, it witnessed the second largest EVD outbreak in the world, resulting in 3481 cases and 2299 mortalities. This article discusses the epidemiology of the current DRC outbreak by examining the etiology of EVD, the number of affected cases, and the subsequent case index. Considering these data, this paper discusses measures taken by the MoH, WHO, CDC, and UNICEF to mitigate the Ebola outbreak, such as supporting local teams to provide essential care, training medical staff, and raising awareness for vaccination. Finally, by comparing the gravity of the situation to current measures, this article provides recommendations for individuals and governments to protect themselves and mitigate future outbreaks.