The current strain of Ebola that has emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo is most likely the Zaire Strain, a deadly strain with a high fatality rate according to the World Health Organization.
While confirming that the cases diagnosed in the Beni and Mangina areas of DR Congo’s North Kivu Province were indeed Ebola, Dr Peter Salama, the WHO Deputy Director-General in charge of Emergency Preparedness and Response, warned that the case count could rise.
“We know… that there have been 20 deaths, but we can’t at this stage confirm whether they are confirmed or probable Ebola cases,” he told a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr Salama said more than 30 WHO staff members are on site in Beni, where the organization has classified the crisis as a Level 3 Emergency.
He cited logistical issues, health worker involvement, proximities to forests and borders, multiple locations, and vast insecurity as some of major constraints and challenges they face in their mission.
“We are at the top of the degree of difficulty scale in terms of responding to this outbreak… The risk is high at the country level, high at the regional level and low at a global level,” he said.
Already, one health worker has died and two have been infected with the new strain.
“We are conducting genetic sequencing on samples collected and will be able to determine by next Tuesday whether or not this is the Zaire strain”.
Only when the strain is confirmed can the WHO administer the vaccine, which must be done quickly to stem the spread of the epidemic.
“We have about 3000 vaccines already (for the Zaire strain) and can get 300,000 more at short notice if need be,” he told reporters.
The announcement of a new strain came just days after the organization gave the green light in clearing the threat of Ebola in the Goma area. A 65-year-old woman who died in a hospital in Mangina on 25 July raised the suspicion, after more than seven immediate family members died within days of her burial.
UNICEF Spokesperson Christophe Boulierac said the local office had dispatched five specialists from the Ebola response team and are expected to dispatch more.
