Seventy five people have died in a second sweep of ebola

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The ebola outbreak has devastated the already-troubled city of Oicha in the region of North Kivu, which is besieged by armed militants. The civil unrest has interrupted the delivery of health services with extreme insecurity and logistical challenges in reaching aid groups. So far 112 confirmed and probable cases have been recorded with 75 deaths confirmed, making the case fatality ratio “high”. North Kivu is in the claws of tribal rebels, with groups such as the Tutsi-led M23 in conflict with Hutu militia group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Both being accused of widespread war crimes, including massacres targeting rival ethnic groups, mass rapes and the forced recruitment of children. The International Rescue Committee has now issued a statement warning the ebola outbreak could be the worst ever in the country.

The organisation is supporting 37 health facilities in the region to strengthen infection control practices, and to introduce in a system for triage, isolation, and referral of suspected Ebola cases. But in some areas, local communities have not followed up health worker contacts or carried out safe burials which limit the amount of contact people have with the deceased’s body in favour of traditional practices. Commenting on burial practices, Michelle Gayer, senior director of emergency health at IRC, said: “We must counteract these myths immediately to stymie the spread of the disease. Safe burials protect everyone in the community.” Ms Gayer also warned that if someone contracts Ebola in the Oicha region then there is almost no way for health workers to know and no way for them to cut the chain of transmission.

Health workers burn mattresses used by patients with Ebola virus

Health workers burn medical waste generated during care of patients

She said: “The news of two confirmed cases in Oicha is extremely distressing, because the area is almost entirely surrounded by armed militants. The IRC has health staff working in the area who have been trained in proper protocols should they receive a suspected case.” Beni, a city situated roughly 30km from Oicha, was the deadliest territory of the Kivas this month with 33 violent deaths of civilians recorded. The IRC is urging the international community to issue a “sufficient” and rapid humanitarian response to avoid a repeat of the 2014 Ebola outbreak that ravaged the country with a death toll of 49 and 69 cases reported in total. The outbreak in the Congo was declared on August 1 after preliminary laboratory results confirmed the virus.

A military truck of the United Nations Organisation and Stabilisation Mission

The announcement was issued just a week after the Ministry of Health declared the end of an outbreak in the Équateur Province in the far western region of the country, some 2500 kilometres from North Kivu. On August 4 the World Health Organization reported that three healthcare workers were among the ill, of who two have died. The Ministry of Public Health confirmed on August 8 that it had begun rolling out vaccinations for high risk populations in North Kivu, one week after the second ebola outbreak this year had been confirmed.