The Ebola epidemic has re-emerged in Kongo, how are the conditions?

The World Health Organization (WHO) announces an outbreak of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The impact of the Ebola virus outbreak is quite large considering that the Congolese people are fighting COVID-19 and the measles outbreak. So, what makes the Ebola virus come back and how is it handled?

The re-emergence of the Ebola outbreak in Congo

Reporting from the official WHO website, the Congolese government discovered a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in Wangata, Mbandaka, Équateur province. Initially, the local Ministry of Health detected six cases of Ebola. Four of them have died and the rest are still being treated.

Three of the six cases have been confirmed by laboratory tests. However, it is possible that more people are affected by this virus that attacks the human immune system.

Previously, the Ebola outbreak in Congo was predicted to end in early June. However, this prediction missed due to the emergence of new cases in the Wangata health zone.

In order to reduce the risk of a spike in Ebola cases, the government is trying to identify and monitor contacts which have become a challenge for them. During the peak of Ebola, 40% of confirmed Ebola cases did not indicate contact with a positive patient.

The cause of the massive spread of the Ebola virus in Congo is apparently the fear and fear in the community that hinders engagement. In addition, newly confirmed and isolated Ebola patients experienced a five day delay until they developed symptoms.

As long as the patient has not been isolated because he is asymptomatic, the Ebola virus can spread to other people. As a result, many of the patients who contract the virus do not benefit from early treatment.

Therefore, the Ebola outbreak in Congo has a high mortality rate due to barriers to treatment.

How is Ebola handled in Congo?

So far, the handling of the Ebola outbreak in Congo is handled by the local Ministry of Health with support from WHO. Reporting from MSF, a medical non-governmental organization from France, a number of areas in Congo will be converted into isolation and treatment centers.

Meanwhile, the government and the MSF team are working together to build an isolation and care center with 20 beds for Ebola and other infectious diseases. This strategy aims to make the government better prepared to face the risk of future outbreaks.

In fact, the medical team from MSF also trained the Congolese Ministry of Health staff in how to handle cases of the Ebola outbreak. Starting from efforts to prevent the transmission of the virus to controlling medical supplies ahead of the opening of isolation centers.

This isolation center is expected to be able to prevent the spread of the virus by quarantining patients.

Source: Air Force Medical Service

Unlike the outbreak in West Africa in 2014-2016, there are now two vaccines to prevent the Ebola virus which are currently in the clinical study phase and have not been licensed.

The first vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, was produced by Merck. This vaccine has been used in people who have had direct contact with positive patients (first contact) and second level contacts. More than 250,000 people have been vaccinated by mid-November 2019.

Then, in mid-November 2019, the community was again vaccinated after obtaining approval to participate in clinical trials. The vaccine named Ad26.ZEBOV / MVA-BN-Filo is expected to be used by the wider community in September 2020.

Should Indonesia be worried about the Ebola outbreak?

Until recently, the countries affected by the Ebola outbreak were those close to Congo, such as Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi.

In Indonesia, there has never been a confirmed case report for the Ebola virus. In fact, the risk of transmitting the virus is quite low. This is because the movement to the affected countries is quite low and the areas currently affected by Ebola are difficult to reach.

Even so, the risk of transmission of the virus still exists. Therefore, the Indonesian government needs to increase awareness regarding the emergence of the Ebola outbreak in Congo.

There are many things that can be done to prevent and limit the transmission of viral infections to Indonesia. Starting from appealing to Indonesian citizens in Africa to remain vigilant to beware of tourists or African foreigners entering Indonesia.