UNICEF DRC COVID-19 and Ebola Situation Report No. 2, 11-15 October 2021 – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Strong points

• A new case was confirmed on October 13, 2021 in the Butsili health area (Beni health zone): a 42-year-old woman who was linked to 3 probable Ebola-related deaths. The woman died on October 13.

• On October 13, 160 cubic meters of essential WASH and nutritional supplies arrived in Beni from Goma.

• UNICEF is supporting the Ebola vaccination campaign which began on October 13 through Infection Prevention Control (IPC) and community engagement to strengthen participation

Overview of the situation

• On October 8, the Ministry of Health confirmed that on October 6, a three-year-old boy died of Ebola in a health center in the Butsili health zone (Beni health zone), province of North Kivu. Ebola was confirmed after a GeneXpert test carried out by the Rodolphe Mérieux Laboratory – INRB (National Institute for Biomedical Research) in Goma;

• The swab sample was sequenced, and the first results indicate that “this epidemic probably represents a new outbreak of the EVD epidemic in North Kivu / Ituri 2018-2020, initiated by the transmission of a survivor infected so persistent or a survivor who has relapsed. Epidemiological investigations are underway to determine the source ”.

• A new case was confirmed on October 13, 2021 in the Butsili health area (Beni health zone): a 42-year-old woman who was linked to three probable Ebola-related deaths in September 2021. The woman died October 13;

• As of October 15, 256 contacts have been identified, of which 46.7% reported being vaccinated.

• The Beni Ebola Treatment Center, which was operational in 2018-20, remains non-operational for the moment. However, 7 temporary isolation units have been set up in different health centers in the Beni health zone and at the Beni general referral hospital with a capacity of 41 beds for suspected cases;