Ebola: outbreak in the DR

With all of the news around COVID-19, other diseases and outbreaks have been neglected. There is currently an Ebola outbreak in the Dominican Republic. According to the WHO website, Ebola virus disease is a severe illness that affects humans. The virus is transmitted through wild animals and then it is able to be spread through human populations through direct contact with blood secretions and other bodily fluids. It is also able to be spread through indirect contact with hard surfaces and materials that have been contaminated with these fluids. This disease is highly fatal and its average fatality rate is around 50%.

According to the health update by WHO, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing the second largest Ebola epidemic on record. The outbreak is located mainly in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. There are hundreds of doctors and nurses from WHO on the grounds supporting the government led responses. This includes:

• Detection and rapid isolation of cases
• Rapid public health actions around confirmed cases
• strengthening community engagement
• Strengthening health system and coordination of activities between partners
• Establishing synergism between public health and security, humanitarianism, and financial to enable the environment for the response

According the European Center of Disease Prevention and Control website, he outbreak is ongoing in a densely-populated region which is causing it to continue growing. The regions of the Dominican Republic infected are characterized by insufficient prevention control practices. Cases have been detected among individuals not previously identified as having contact with someone with it. This stresses the need to maintain enhanced surveillance on the chains of transmission. The number of cases have been declining in the last few weeks, with more recent cases restricted to rural, hard-to-reach communities instead of the city areas where the outbreak was previously located Although it is diminishing, this outbreak is of significant gravity and many have died, and awareness needs to be spread.