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WORLD NEWS Friday 18 May 2018

'Major, major game-changer': Ebola spreads to big Congo city

By SALEH MWANAMILON- One nurse had died, and
GO and CARLEY PETESCH three others were among
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — suspected cases since the
Congo's Ebola outbreak outbreak began.
has spread to a crossroads Medical teams have been
city of more than 1 million rushing to track down any-
people in a troubling turn one thought to have had
that marks the first time the contact with infected peo-
vast, impoverished country ple, while WHO is shipping
has encountered the lethal thousands of doses of an
virus in an urban area. experimental vaccine.
"This is a major, major game- Until now, the outbreak was
changer in the outbreak," confined to remote rural
Dr. Peter Salama, the World areas, where Ebola, which
Health Organization's dep- is spread by bodily fluids,
uty director-general of travels more slowly.
emergency preparedness "We're certainly not trying
and response, warned on to cause any panic in the
Thursday. national or international
A single case of Ebola was community," Salama said.
confirmed in Mbandaka, a But "urban Ebola can result
densely populated provin- in an exponential increase
cial capital on the Congo in cases in a way that rural
River, Congo's Health Min- Ebola struggles to do."
ister Oly Ilunga said late Mbandaka, a city of al- In this photo taken on Sunday, May 13, 2018, people suspected of having the Ebola Virus wait at
Wednesday. The city is most 1.2 million, is in a busy a treatment center in Bikoro Democratic Republic of Congo.
about 150 kilometers (93 travel corridor in Congo's
miles) from Bikoro, the rural northwest Equateur prov- the coming days as need-
area where the outbreak ince and is upstream from ed.
was announced last week. the capital, Kinshasa, a city "This is a concerning de-
Late Thursday, Congo's Min- of about 10 million. It is an velopment, but we now
istry of Health announced hour's plane ride from Kin- have better tools than ever
11 new confirmed Ebola shasa or a four- to seven- before to combat Ebola,"
cases and two deaths tied day trip by river barge. Tedros Adhanom Ghe-
to cases in the country's Salama also noted Mban- breyesus, WHO director-
northwest, including one in daka's proximity to neigh- general, said of the new
a suburb of Mbandaka. boring countries, including urban case.
A total of 45 cases of Ebola Central African Republic The vaccine has been
have now been reported and Republic of Congo. shown to be highly effec-
in Congo in this outbreak: "The scenario has changed, tive against Ebola. It was
14 confirmed, 21 probable and it has become most tested in Guinea during the
and 10 suspected, the min- serious and worrying, since outbreak that killed more
istry said, after results from the disease is now affect- than 11,300 people in West
lab tests returned Thursday. ing an urban area," said Africa from 2014 to 2016.
There has been one new Henry Gray, emergency WHO has said it will use the
death in Bikoro, where the coordinator in Mbandaka "ring vaccination" method.
first death took place. That for Doctors Without Borders. It involves vaccinating con-
new death had epidemio- The aid organization said tacts of those feared in-
logical ties to another case. 514 people believed to fected, contacts of those
The other death was a sus- have been in contact with contacts, and health care
pected case in Wangata, infected people are being and other front-line work-
a suburb of Mbandaka on monitored. WHO said it is ers.
the Congo River, the min- deploying about 30 more This is the ninth Ebola out-
istry said. No details were experts to the city. break in Congo since 1976,
given on the death's links to Those exposed will for the when the disease was first
the newly confirmed case. first time in Congo receive identified. The virus is initially
Only one of the 25 dead Ebola vaccinations, the transmitted to people from
has been confirmed as Eb- health minister said. WHO wild animals, including bats
ola, it said, adding that no has sent 4,000 doses to and monkeys.
new health professionals Congo and said it will dis- There is no specific treat-
have been contaminated. patch thousands more in ment for Ebola. q