According to the World Health Organization (WHO), three new Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases were reported on May 19, bringing the outbreak total to 32. The new cases include one probable case in Ngayi and two suspected cases in a new health area called Ngabatala.
Of the 32 cases, two are confirmed, three are listed as probable and 27 are suspected. To date, four deaths have been reported, giving a case fatality rate of 13 percent.
Most of the cases presented with fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and other bleeding symptoms and signs. The outbreak currently remains confined to Likati Health Zone. According to available information at this stage, no healthcare workers have been affected.
According to a WHO risk assessment, the risk is high at the national level due to the known impact of Ebola outbreaks, remoteness of the affected area, and limited access to health care including suboptimal surveillance; at the regional level the risk is moderate due to the proximity of international borders and the recent influx of refugees from Central African Republic and the risk is low at global level due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the area to major international ports.
WHO and Doctors without Borders (MSF) are working with the Government to consider the potential of vaccination campaign as part of the response, and on approval by the regulatory and ethical authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An experimental Ebola vaccine proved highly protective in a major trial in Guinea. The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11,841 people in 2015.
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