Ebola fever in the Congo is on the rise

Spread of life-threatening Ebola fever in Congo

18/09/2012

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns against further spread of the Ebola disease in the Congo. By 12 September, 41 Ebola cases had been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of which 18 cases were fatal, WHO reports. Currently, another 28 suspected cases are being investigated.

Ebola is a life-threatening disease that causes death in up to 90 percent of cases. It is highly contagious and can be transmitted from person to person. The only reason that so far only limited local outbreaks were recorded is the high death rate. The victims die too fast to infect a larger number of people. However, every outbreak of Ebola poses a significant risk to the local population and the caring medical staff. According to the WHO, 18 employees of healthcare facilities in the Congo have been infected with the pathogens.

46 people suffering from Ebola fever
To combat the Ebola outbreak in the Congo was „a national task force with several partners, including the WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the US Agency for International Development ( USAID)“, convened, WHO reports. By the weekend, the number of reported illnesses had increased by five more cases to 46. In 14 patients, the findings were confirmed in the meantime laboratory diagnostics, in the 32 remaining reports suspected of Ebola infection close, so the statement of the World Health Organization. 18 patients have already died as a result of the Ebola fever, and 28 other suspected cases are being investigated. The outbreak, according to the WHO, focuses on the Haut-Uélé district in the province of Orientale.

Symptoms of an Ebola infection
An infection with the Ebola virus causes the so-called Ebola fever in humans. After a maximum of three weeks of incubation the affected persons develop influenza-like symptoms followed by a so-called haemorrhagic fever. This is characterized by high fever, internal bleeding, impairment of liver and kidney function, bloody diarrhea, cramps, shock and circulatory collapse. Nausea with vomiting is also a typical concomitant symptom. Not infrequently, those affected bleed from all body orifice. A cure is not possible so far. Only relief of symptoms can be achieved through comprehensive medical care. Since the Ebola virus can be transmitted to other people via lubricating infections (via body fluids) and the patients secrete a great deal of body fluids in the form of blood, vomit, diarrhea and urine, the risk of infection in contact is particularly high.

Epidemic outbreaks in Africa
In Central Africa, the population is currently threatened by various disease outbreaks While Ebola had last claimed 16 lives in the Congo and is now raging in the Congo, many Central African countries are currently also struggling with the spread of cholera. The WHO recently reported about 55,000 cholera infections in West and Central Africa. The epidemic has already claimed numerous deaths in states such as Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, the Congo, Niger and Nigeria and thousands more are expected. International relief organizations such as UNICEF, Oxfam, British Red Cross, Save the Children, Care and WHO are also fighting locally against the spread of the epidemic. (Fp)

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Picture credits: Dr. med. Karl Herrmann