A first delivery of 11,000 vaccines against Ebola should arrive this weekend in Guinea where the virus has recently reappeared. This vaccine stock will be delivered by the WHO a week after the resurgence of the epidemic in this West African country and while the stocks made during the previous epidemic, five years ago, had expired.
In the DRC, another country where the Ebola virus is claiming victims, the authorities are already facing a 12th epidemic in which the first victim is the wife of a survivor of the disease. Ebola survivors, in some cases, continue to be carriers of the virus even after being declared cured.
Ebola survivors may still carry the virus even after being declared cured
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Cured but still carrying the virus
“I thought I was going to die. I was stunned, I was no longer in a normal state. I didn’t eat, I vomited every day. I thought I was going to die.“This is the testimony of Germain Kalubenge who contracted Ebola two years ago. He spent six weeks in the hospital and had little hope of being cured. But he survived. A month after his release from the disease. Hospital, he was considered cured, but during his last test a month ago, traces of the virus were found in his semen, a shock for Germain.
“This is something that I cannot understand. It has been two years since I was cured. I was doing checks and at one point I was told that I am negative and can do whatever I want. Then I was called back to tell me that we still have to recheck. When we rechecked we saw that my sperm was positive again. “
The new Ebola epidemic in the DRC does not reassure caregivers
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Concerned caregivers
In Butembo, in eastern DRC, in early February, the death of a woman from the Ebola virus marked the start of the 12th epidemic in the country. According to the Minister of Health, she contracted the disease from the infected semen of her husband who was himself an Ebola survivor. Mumbere Mukiki is a nurse, he works in a temporary service outside the Kitatumba hospital in Butembo, where suspected Ebola cases will be isolated upon arrival. But there is only room for four patients. No more. Mumbere Mukiki has already experienced Ebola epidemics but he fears that it will be difficult to contain because there are many contact cases. “We risk our lives because all the sick who arrive pass through our hands. We have been told there is a twelfth epidemic, we are concerned. We are scared.”
Despite the concerns, the health authorities think they can still contain the spread of the virus but warn that the Ebola and Covid-19 epidemics are putting pressure on the health system in the DRC.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Ebola response in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive a United Nations allocation of $ 15 million to fight the disease.
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Ebola survivors may still carry the virus even after being declared cured
–
Cured but still carrying the virus
“I thought I was going to die. I was stunned, I was no longer in a normal state. I didn’t eat, I vomited every day. I thought I was going to die.“This is the testimony of Germain Kalubenge who contracted Ebola two years ago. He spent six weeks in the hospital and had little hope of being cured. But he survived. A month after his release from the disease. Hospital, he was considered cured, but during his last test a month ago, traces of the virus were found in his semen, a shock for Germain.
“This is something that I cannot understand. It has been two years since I was cured. I was doing checks and at one point I was told that I am negative and can do whatever I want. Then I was called back to tell me that we still have to recheck. When we rechecked we saw that my sperm was positive again. “
The new Ebola epidemic in the DRC does not reassure caregivers
–
Concerned caregivers
In Butembo, in eastern DRC, in early February, the death of a woman from the Ebola virus marked the start of the 12th epidemic in the country. According to the Minister of Health, she contracted the disease from the infected semen of her husband who was himself an Ebola survivor. Mumbere Mukiki is a nurse, he works in a temporary service outside the Kitatumba hospital in Butembo, where suspected Ebola cases will be isolated upon arrival. But there is only room for four patients. No more. Mumbere Mukiki has already experienced Ebola epidemics but he fears that it will be difficult to contain because there are many contact cases. “We risk our lives because all the sick who arrive pass through our hands. We have been told there is a twelfth epidemic, we are concerned. We are scared.”
Despite the concerns, the health authorities think they can still contain the spread of the virus but warn that the Ebola and Covid-19 epidemics are putting pressure on the health system in the DRC.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Ebola response in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive a United Nations allocation of $ 15 million to fight the disease.
– .
The new Ebola epidemic in the DRC does not reassure caregivers
–
Concerned caregivers
In Butembo, in eastern DRC, in early February, the death of a woman from the Ebola virus marked the start of the 12th epidemic in the country. According to the Minister of Health, she contracted the disease from the infected semen of her husband who was himself an Ebola survivor. Mumbere Mukiki is a nurse, he works in a temporary service outside the Kitatumba hospital in Butembo, where suspected Ebola cases will be isolated upon arrival. But there is only room for four patients. No more. Mumbere Mukiki has already experienced Ebola epidemics but he fears that it will be difficult to contain because there are many contact cases. “We risk our lives because all the sick who arrive pass through our hands. We have been told there is a twelfth epidemic, we are concerned. We are scared.”
Despite the concerns, the health authorities think they can still contain the spread of the virus but warn that the Ebola and Covid-19 epidemics are putting pressure on the health system in the DRC.
The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Ebola response in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive a United Nations allocation of $ 15 million to fight the disease.
– .
