ECHO Daily Flash

published on 22/09/2018

One new confirmed case of Ebola Virus Diseases (EVD) has been reported in a village at the shores of Lake Albert at the border to Uganda. This new confirmed case has been in contact with EVD in the city of Béni. Avoiding medical follow-up including vaccination in Béni, the person fled to Kasenye village in the Tshomia health zone close to Bunia city in Ituri province.
This new EVD case at the shores of Lake Albert is an aggrieving factor for this 10th Ebola outbreak in the DRC. The lake is well known as a trading route between the DRC and Uganda.
In addition, violent conflicts in Ituri Province have displaced over 350 000 people internally and pushed some 75 000 Congolese into Uganda in 2018, crossing Lake Albert in order to seek refuge. This population movement in close vicinity of this new EVD case is worrisome.
With this new EVD case, there are now eight health districts in the DRC that are affected by the current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. This latest confirmed case is almost 200 km away from the nearest other case.
Follow-up of contacts of confirmed and probable cases is a top priority to cut the transmission chains of the outbreak and remains a major challenge in such difficult context.