DRC Ebola epidemic spreads to
populous border city
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| A boy has his temperature checked in Goma as health officials take steps to halt the spread of the epidemic (AFP) |
A second person has died after contracting Ebola in Goma, a
major transit hub in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the Rwandan border. On
Thursday, the man’s 1-year old daughter was also diagnosed with the disease.
By Linda Bordoni
The latest development in the worst Ebola crisis
since the 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa has turned fears into reality.
World Health Organization officials have feared Ebola's
arrival in Goma for months. That’s because the city is home to
a highly mobile population of more than 1 million, making the risk of
spreading the disease extremely high.
The WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency
in mid June after the first Ebola death in Goma.
That patient was a pastor who had left South Kivu to
evangelize in Butembo, at the center of the current Ebola outbreak.
This week’s victim is a miner who had been working in the
Ituri province, north of Goma. He developed Ebola symptoms after returning home
earlier this month.
Tracking contacts
The painstaking work of finding, tracking and vaccinating
people who had contact with the man - and the contacts of those contacts - has
begun.
This outbreak has killed more than 1,800 people, nearly a
third of them children. It is now rated as the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak
in history.
Meanwhile, Rwanda has confirmed its border closure, and
Saudi Arabia has stopped issuing visas to people from Congo; a controversial
move just before the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the Mecca this month.
Global Health Emergency
The declaration of a global health emergency has
brought a surge of millions of dollars in new pledges by international donors,
but many health workers say a new approach is needed to combat
misunderstandings, fear and stigma.
A number of health workers responding to the outbreak have
been attacked, even killed, in a region where rebel groups are active and the
population lives in terror of outsiders.
This outbreak is second only to the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak
in West Africa that left more than 11,300 people dead.
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