The World Health Organization said on Friday that health officials in eastern Congo have recorded the first ever relapse of an Ebola survivor.
According to health officials the survivor of the deadly virus fell ill again early this month in Mabalako, North Kivu province.
The WHO said in a weekly report that preliminary tests have since classified it as a relapse.
“Rare cases of relapse – in which a person who has recovered from EVD (Ebola) gets disease symptoms again – have been documented during past outbreaks, but this is the first relapse documented in this outbreak,” the report said.
According to health officials, eleven new Ebola cases were recorded during the period of this patient’s relapse and the new cases were traced to the survivor who relapsed.
“It is a single transmission chain but it is worrying,” said Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies programme, on Thursday.
He adds that “we had a massive problem (in Butembo) only 6 months ago, so there is real concern that any continued transmission in Mabalako may potentially re-infect Butembo.”
The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has infected more than 3,300 people and killed more than 2,200 since 2018.
Fighting the Ebola outbreak in the DR Congo has been a major challenge with parts of the country still not secure.
Health workers and journalists have been attacked and some killed as efforts to prevent the spread of the disease continues.
Source: Africafeeds.com
