KINSHASA: Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo have appealed for calm after an evangelical preacher fell ill with Ebola in the eastern city of Goma, the first recorded case of the disease in the urban hub in a nearly year-old epidemic.
Goma, which has a population of around one million, is the capital of North Kivu province, the epicentre of an outbreak that has claimed more than 1,600 lives — the second highest toll in Ebola’s history.
In a statement, North Kivu governor Carly Nzanzu Kasivita stressed the new case “not only was detected at an early stage but also was isolated immediately, avoiding any further contamination.”
“I call on the population of the city of Goma and its outskirts to keep calm... (and) cooperate with response teams by observing hygiene and prevention measures and notifying any suspected case of Ebola,” he added.
According to the latest health ministry figures, 1,655 people have died from the haemorrhagic virus since August 1 last year, when the disease broke out in North Kivu and spread to neighbouring Ituri.
Nearly 700 people have been cured, and more than 160,000 been vaccinated.
But efforts to roll back Ebola have been hampered by insecurity in a region plagued by militia groups, who have attacked treatment centres.
Local hostility to health workers trying to trace and isolate people in contact with Ebola patients is another hurdle.
Two more Ebola workers were murdered in their homes in North Kivu after months of threats, the ministry said.
HEALTH CHECKPOINTS
The Goma patient was described as a pastor who had been on a trip to another town, Butembo, one of the towns hardest hit by the outbreak.
There, he preached at seven churches and regularly touched worshippers, “including the sick,” the health ministry said on Sunday. His symptoms first surfaced last Tuesday, it said.
On Friday he took a bus back to Goma from Butembo, along with 18 other passengers and the driver.
He went through several health checkpoints on the road between Butemo and Goma “but did not seem to show signs of the disease.
However, at each checkpoint, he wrote down different family names and forenames on the passenger list, which probably indicates a will to hide his identity and state of health,” the ministry said.
When he arrived in Goma on Sunday morning, he went to a clinic because he didn’t feel well and started to become feverish, the ministry said.
“Given that the patient was quickly identified, as well as all the passengers on the bus from Butembo, the risk of the disease spreading in the city of Goma is low,” it said.
The pastor was swiftly taken back to Butembo, the governor added. The other passengers and the driver will be vaccinated against Ebola, said the ministry, urging the population of one of Africa’s largest countries to “keep calm”. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
