Cape Town - A new case of the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the city of Beni in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the country's National Institute for Biomedical Research said on Monday.
Genetic sequencing showed the case is linked to the 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu province, the institute said in a statement.
According to the institute, the suspected case was a 46-year-old woman who died on 15 August in Beni, a town in North Kivu.
The case received care at the Beni Referral Hospital, initially for other ailments but subsequently exhibited symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease, said the statement, noting that the country's National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) is in the process of testing samples to determine if the patient contracted Ebola, citing a Xinhua report.
"While the analysis is ongoing, WHO is already on the ground supporting health officials to investigate the case and prepare for a possible outbreak," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
On Monday, August 15, 2022, the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) Beni mobile laboratory received an oropharyngeal secretion sample taken from a deceased patient who was being treated at the Beni General Reference Hospital (HGR-Beni), according to Virological.org.
The sample tested positive for the Ebola virus (EBOV) using the Cepheid Xpert Ebola assay with ct-values of 32.5 for viral glycoprotein (GP) and 28.2 for viral nucleoprotein (NP). For quality control and confirmation, samples were sent to the Rodolphe Mérieux INRB-Goma Laboratory on Tuesday, August 16, 2022, where the analysis confirmed the EVD case, said health authorities.
“The patient was admitted on July 23, 2022, to the Internal Medicine department of the HGR-Beni for cough, headache, polyarthralgia, intense physical asthenia dating back several days and for which she had self-medicated with non-specified drugs.”
“She was HIV-positive on antiretroviral treatment, and she had also presented with tuberculosis for which she was receiving anti-tuberculosis treatment. On August 13, 2022, her health condition deteriorated with the onset of bronchial congestion and kidney failure, which prompted her transfer to the intensive care unit for better care. She died on 15 August 2022.”
In total, her hospitalisation lasted 23 days. The body was collected by the family the same day for burial.
On 17 August 17, 131 contacts were listed, including 60 front-line healthcare workers and 71 co-patients. Of the 131 pre-listed contacts, 59 of the 60 HCWs are vaccinated. The vaccination status of the index case and 71 co-patients is not yet known.
IOL