Heightened surveillance, over new reported cases of Ebola in DRC.

By; Our reporter

18^th October 2021

photo credit to urn

There is heightened surveillance by Kanungu district health officials at the common border with the Democratic Republic of Congo -DRC following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease.  

On October 8th, 2021, DRC’s Minister of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention, Dr. Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda confirmed the outbreak of Ebola in Butsili Health Area, Beni North Kivu province, about 162 miles to the Uganda-DRC border of Kanungu.

This followed the death of a 3-year-old boy in a local health facility on October 6, 2021. He lived in the same community where three family members died in September after presenting Ebola-like symptoms, according to Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

Samples drawn on 7 October 2021, to the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) laboratory in Beni and later to the Rodolphe Mérieux INRB Laboratory, in Goma on 8 October, confirmed Ebola by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Now, Kato Besisira, the Kanungu Assistant District Health Officer in charge of Environmental health who is also the Chairperson of the district Ebola Taskforce has said that screening facilities have been placed at the Ishasha and Butogota entry points to make sure that any person crossing to Uganda is thoroughly checked.

Hajji  Shafiq Ssekandi, Kanungu Resident District Commissioner says that they have already started a sensitization campaign through local radio stations to make locals aware of the outbreak in DR Congo and how that can get prevent it.