Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Outbreak at a Glance:
- On April 22nd, 2022, the health authorities of the African Nations declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) after a case was confirmed for a 31-year-old citizen of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- He began experiencing symptoms on April 5th, 2022.
- He was admitted to the intensive care unit on April 21st, 2022, and passed away one day later.
- On April 25th, the second case was recorded for a 25-year-old woman from the same family, who passed away on the same day, but she began experiencing symptoms on April 13th.
- Hundreds of potential contacts are being followed up, and no new cases have been reported yet.
- There are no specific guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) related to this outbreak yet.
Symptoms:
- Early symptoms can include: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat.
- This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, symptoms of impaired kidney and liver function, in addition to internal and external bleeding.
- The case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90%.
Epidemiology:
- The incubator of the virus is some wild animals, most prominently: fruit bats, porcupines, and monkeys.
- It is transmitted from an infected animal to a person.
- It is transmitted between people directly through body secretions, or indirectly through the use of contaminated personal items.
- in 1976, the first EVD outbreak occurred in Central African Republic.
- Since 1976, 16 epidemic outbreaks have been recorded in some African countries.
Diagnosis:
- Cases are diagnosed and confirmed based on laboratory tests, most prominently: antibody test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Treatment:
- Symptom control in palliative therapy, mainly rehydration.
- Two monoclonal antibodies (Inmazeb and Ebanga) were approved for the treatment of EVD by the US Food and Drug Administration in late 2020.
Prevention and Control:
- Raising awareness of risk factors for Ebola infection and protective measures.
- The Ervebo vaccine, which was approved in 2022, is given to those individuals aged 18 years and older.
- The Zabdeno vaccine, which was approved in 2020, is administered in two doses, 8 months apart, for those aged one year and older.