Last weekend, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported a further 33 cases of the highly contagious disease, bringing the total number to 419. The World Health Organisation (WHO) identified three major ebola “red zones” as Kalunguta, Katwa and Beni – all of which located in the north east of the Congo. The WHO also warned the ebola situation in the DRC remains complex and challenging, adding it was confident its partners in the area could successfully control it. And in a chilling turn, the WHO warned health centres have been identified as unknowingly spreading the disease even more through the administration of medications and injections.
The finding followed a flurry of 39 new infections in healthcare workers.
Up to 36 cases were confirmed to have been reported between November 14 to 20, with seven being babies and six children between the ages of two and 17.
One incident was of a pregnant woman being infected.
Of the 36, ten are dead.
The new numbers come as the country’s health officials announced the launch of a clinical drug trial they hope will treat the disease, which is not administered through injections.
The medication on offer is Zmapp, mAb114, and remdesivir, which are antibody treatments that showed promise in earlier tests.
The trial began last week at Beni’s ebola treatment centre with drugs issued on a “compassionate” basis.
The WHO is watching closely to see whether the drug trial will have an immediate effect and allow the virus to be contained.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “While our focus remains on bringing this outbreak to an end, the launch of the randomised control trial in DRC is an important step towards finally finding an ebola treatment that will save lives.”
He added 160 patients in the DRC have already been treated with experimental drugs.
Ebola is a serious illness – symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, weakness, muscle pain, severe headache and fatigue.