DR Congo Ebola response faces growing strain as Kenya contacts near end of quarantine

UN agencies said on 23 October that the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo needs more resources for treatment and food assistance as the outbreak spreads into remote areas. Meanwhile, some contacts of Kenya’s first confirmed case are due to finish quarantine on Sunday, according to UN News.

The DRC outbreak, officially declared in mid-May, has reached eight provinces, most recently Nord-Ubangi in the northwest, UN News reported. It put the cumulative toll at 9,765 cases and 4,727 deaths and said roughly 30,000 contacts were being monitored each day over a three-week period.

Remote areas strain the DR Congo Ebola response

A separate WHO situation report, using data through 19 October, recorded 9,637 confirmed cases and 4,646 confirmed deaths across 66 health zones in eight provinces. Those earlier confirmed-case figures have a different date and measure from the totals in UN News’s 23 October account. The WHO report identified insecurity, displacement and restricted humanitarian access as threats to surveillance and response work.

Smallwood said deaths outside recognised treatment centres remain a warning sign that cases are being detected late. Deaths in the community or outside centres had declined during the preceding week, but she said some patients in eastern DRC visit two to five health facilities before referral for Ebola treatment.

WHO had aimed to provide 3,000 treatment beds across affected areas; more than 2,000 were available, Smallwood said. UN News also reported 2,600 survivors in the DRC and said clinics were opening to offer monitoring, care for related conditions and psychosocial support.

Food assistance and Kenya’s quarantine

The World Food Programme is providing food support and building treatment centres. Its DRC representative, David Stevenson, described Francine Birungi Amoti, who lost a child to Ebola and cannot safely reach her fields because of violence. Food assistance helps her feed the children in her care, he said.

In Kenya, more than 100 contacts were identified after the country’s first Ebola case and death. The man had worked in the DRC and returned to Nairobi via Uganda, UN News reported. Some contacts are due to complete 21 days of quarantine on Sunday and return home.

WHO’s representative in Kenya, Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, told UN News that the contacts’ cooperation had helped protect the community. She urged people not to stigmatise those leaving quarantine: being identified as a contact does not mean they had Ebola. She also called for continued preparedness while the DRC outbreak persists.