ReliefWeb

FAST FACTS

• As of January 7, there have been 3,392 cases of Ebola Virus Disease reported in Northeast DRC, including 2,235 deaths

• As of January 7, there have been 266,087 people vaccinated (4,802 of them with the recently introduced Johnson & Johnson vaccine)

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS RESPONSE

• Since December 7, 2018, International Medical Corps’ Ebola Treatment Center in Mangina has provided treatment to 3,219 suspects and 411 confirmed Ebola patients

• International Medical Corps is supporting 95 health facilities to ensure healthcare delivery is safe, through infection prevention and control (IPC) support

• Since August 21, 2018, International Medical Corpssupported SRUs have provided 1,208,105 screenings for Ebola

• Since December 11, 2019, International Medical Corps has screened 336 persons at the Mambassa Transit Center

SITUATION UPDATE

Another year has drawn to a close, and the first week of 2020 started with 12 new Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) confirmed cases in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Despite the persistence of new cases, International Medical Corps wrapped up 2019 by discharging eight patients from our Ebola Treatment Center in Mangina on December 31. Although the security situation remains volatile, International Medical Corps staff who were evacuated in early December have since returned to their duty stations and activities have resumed as normal.

As of January 7, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) 1 has reported 3,392 EVD cases (3,274 confirmed and 118 probable) in DRC, including 2,235 deaths (a 66% case fatality rate). This includes 169 cases that are healthcare staff. In the past 21 days (December 18, 2019, to January7, 2020), a total of 41 confirmed cases were reported in 13 health areas within six active health zones. In addition to Mabalako health zone (where International Medical Corps’ ETC is located), new confirmed cases were reported during the last week of the year in health zones (Butembo and Kalunguta) that had not reported cases for more than eight weeks.

In the absence of a clear transmission link that these new cases have with other Ebola patients, it is theorized that they are due to transmission through viruses persistent in some body fluids of survivors, highlighting the need for survivor-care programs.

There are currently 25 Ebola Transit Centers and 11 Ebola Treatment Centers in the DRC. International Medical Corps, through its Rapid Response Team (RRT), extended the organization’s case management efforts to Ituri province on December 11, 2019, and has since admitted 336 cases into a Transit Center in Mambassa built by WHO. On January 4, 2020, the Transit Center confirmed its first two Ebola cases, after more than two months of no cases in the health zone.
From August 8, 2018, to January 4, 2020, Ebola vaccinations have reached 266,087 persons. This includes 261,285 persons who received the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ebola vaccine by Merck, and 4,802 persons vaccinated with the Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.