Africa-Press. United Nations agencies have confirmed that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to spread, with an increasing likelihood of a rise in infections among children in the coming days.
Dr. Olivier Le Polain, head of the epidemiology and analysis unit for response at the World Health Organization, stated, “New cases are being discovered every day in new health areas. This truly reflects the scale of this outbreak, which is much larger than what is currently being monitored, and it reflects the high level of population mobility in this part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Since the confirmation of the rapidly spreading outbreak about three weeks ago, health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have reported 676 infections and 136 deaths caused by the rare and deadly “Bundibugyo” strain of the Ebola virus.
Infections have been recorded over a range extending from the Aro area in Ituri Province to Miti-Moris in South Kivu Province, covering nearly a thousand kilometers.
Dr. Le Polain added, during a video briefing from Beni to journalists in Geneva, “As of yesterday, we have 34 affected health areas, and these areas experiencing Ebola infections are still expanding, with new areas in North Kivu also reporting cases yesterday.”
Crisis response officials emphasized that a large number of children in the region are suffering from malnutrition and have not received basic vaccinations against preventable diseases, making them highly susceptible to infections in this resource-rich area, which is already facing a humanitarian crisis due to decades of fighting between government forces and armed groups.
So far, most infections have been recorded among adults during their daily activities, “but as the outbreak evolves, we must be prepared for increased transmission within households, meaning we may see more children infected in the coming days,” warned Dr. Douglas Noble, global public health emergency officer at UNICEF and head of the organization’s Ebola incident management.
He added, “The reality is that these children are already in extremely vulnerable situations, and the capacity of local communities to withstand any additional pressures has already reached its limits.” He noted that more than half of the children under five in Ituri Province suffer from “chronic malnutrition.”
Additionally, more than one in five children are classified as “zero dose,” meaning they have not even received the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine.
Estimating the number of children who may be affected by the outbreak is currently challenging due to insufficient data for monitoring and tracking.
However, previous Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have shown that children “made up a large proportion of infections and an even larger proportion of deaths, with younger children facing the highest mortality rates, leaving many orphaned or separated from caregivers,” according to Dr. Noble.
As part of a six-month response aimed at assisting 3.7 million people, UNICEF has sent eight cargo flights carrying over 100 tons of emergency humanitarian supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with support from the European Union.
The emergency shipments include personal protective equipment for frontline workers, medicines, hygiene materials, and medical supplies needed to combat the virus in affected communities.
Although Ebola is a deadly disease, it differs significantly from COVID-19 in how it spreads, as it typically transmits through bodily fluids. Therefore, a UNICEF official emphasized that children who can go to school should continue their education.
He stated, “There is no reason to close schools. However, infection prevention and control measures must be implemented, and awareness should be provided within schools among teachers, staff, and children.”
Unlike the “Ebola-Zaire” strain, there are currently no approved therapeutic drugs or vaccines specifically for the Bundibugyo strain. This highlights the need to strengthen monitoring and containment efforts, according to Dr. Le Polain.
He explained, “We have now reached tracking more than 70% of contacts appropriately. This is a significant improvement compared to what the situation was a week or two ago, but it is still below the level required to ensure effective control of the outbreak.”
The WHO official noted that improving local testing capabilities is a key factor in addressing the health threat, as the true scale of the outbreak “remains not fully clear.”
He added that the testing laboratory in Beni processed about 500 test samples on Thursday alone, emphasizing that this “will greatly help in forming a clearer picture of the outbreak size in Beni as well.”
For its part, UNICEF has deployed over 1,600 community health workers, along with 24 disinfection teams, and has already reached more than 160,000 households.
Dr. Noble concluded, “We can protect children from the worst effects of this outbreak. Rapid case detection, strong healthcare for children, contact tracing, and having aware and engaged local communities are all factors that can help control this outbreak. What we need now is resources, humanitarian access, and the trust of local communities to achieve success.”
