UNICEF to scale up Ebola response in DR Congo

GENEVA, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday that it will open a new Ebola response front in the Democratic Republic of Congo to provide support to thousands of people following the recent confirmation of new Ebola cases, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a latest development, Congo authorities said on Thursday that five more Ebola cases were confirmed, including two from the urban commercial hub of Butembo in North Kivu province, one of which involved a health worker from a clinic where the city's first case had been treated.

Butembo is North Kivu province's second largest city, with a population of nearly 1 million, and has so far four confirmed cases.

Earlier cases include a patient who fled from the Beni outbreak hotspot and a man who fled from Ituri province and whose illness was diagnosed retroactively in Butembo based on a semen sample.

"So there is a real risk the virus could spread quickly in such a large population centre," said Dr Gianfranco Rotigliano, the UNICEF representative in Congo.

"The number of confirmed ebola cases in Butembo remains limited, but we have to ensure that everything is being done now to ensure that the outbreak is controlled at this early stage."

UNICEF is expanding the Ebola response and deploying to Butembo a team of 11 specialists in community communication, education, psycho-social assistance, and water, sanitation and hygiene, to contain the disease.

It has trained 35 psycho-social workers to assist families and children affected by the disease, broadcast sensitisation programmes on nine community radios and sensitised 36 journalists.

Anthropologists have been sent to ensure the response in Congo is sensitive to cultural beliefs and practices in caring for the sick and  addressing people's concerns about secure and dignified burials.

 The World Health Organisation (WHO) said as of Sept 12, the total reported Ebola cases in Congo had reached 137, including 106 confirmed and 31 probable cases.

The death toll had risen to 92, including 61 confirmed and 31 probable cases.

-- BERNAMA