Apr 08 2019

Project Description

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Ebola in the Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

      Ebola is a serious virus found in humans and some animals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). It is a disease that causes serious illness that can be fatal if left untreated (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018). The first outbreak of Ebola was recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976 and the virus has since infected people across Africa. It is transmitted through direct contact with blood, secretions, or other body fluids from an infected human or animal that penetrate broken skin or mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth (CDC). The virus can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces or the body of a deceased person who was infected. The tenth outbreak of the Ebola Virus in 40 years was first detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August of 2018 and it is the second-largest Ebola outbreak recorded ever (Doctors Without Borders). The outbreak is currently approaching 1000 cases of the virus and over 600 deaths in the North Kivu and North Ituri provinces of the DRC (WHO, 2019). A vaccine has been administered to more than 96,000 people in the DRC, but it is not currently licensed and is only being used on a compassionate basis for people at the highest risk (WHO, 2018). There is currently a high risk of the Ebola virus spreading due to its contagious nature and the increase in political instability and violence in the country.  

 

Problems:

    1. No proven treatment for the virus and the current vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, is not licensed and is only being used on a compassionate basis for people who give consent (WHO, 2018)
    2. Human-to-human transmission occurring from direct contact with body fluids and contaminated surfaces, as well as handling infected bodies during burials/funeral rituals (CDC).
    3. Political unrest and attacks against health centers result in suspended medical activities, causing people to seek care in facilities that do not have adequate infection prevention and control measures increasing risk of contamination. (Doctors Without Borders)
    4. Health-care workers becoming infected while treating patients with Ebola (WHO, 2018)
    5. Ebola Virus persists in blood and “immune-privileged” sites like the testes, mammary glands, and central nervous system of those recovering from the disease, possibility of contaminated breast milk (WHO, 2018)

 

Problem Selection

2. Human-to-human transmission occurring from direct contact with body fluids and contaminated surfaces, as well as handling infected bodies during burials/funeral rituals (CDC).

     The lack of technology has made it difficult to fully grasp how the Ebola virus spread so rapidly. There is some evidence from the World Health Organization claiming that direct contact with infected bodily fluids, blood, contaminated surfaces, and even dead bodies can cause the virus to spread. The virus can live in the body for weeks, and without proper precautionary measures, the virus will be impossible to 100% eradicate. Research shows that many people living in West Africa do not have protected sex, thus increasing the risk of transmitting the disease (through semen). There are many sanitation issues in West Africa, most notably, the water supply. Feces, waste, and other fluids pour into the river, making everybody in the water vulnerable to infection. Finally, Ebola is one of the few viruses that can infect a person, even though the body is dead. Many burials are not done properly, exposing the Ebola virus from the dead body to the person performing the burial.

 

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease).

     Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html

 

World Health Organization. (n.d.). Ebola Virus Disease. Retrieved from

     https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-virus-disease

 

World Health Organization. (2018, December 19). Frequently Asked Questions.

     Retrieved from https://www.who.int/ebola/drc-2018/faq-vaccine/en/

 

World Health Organization. (2019, March 23). WHO reaffirms commitment to

     Democratic Republic of Congo as Ebola outbreak nears 1000 cases amid increased violence. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/23-03-2019-who-reaffirms-commitment-to-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-as-ebola-outbreak-nears-1-000-cases- amid-increased-violence