IRC RESPONDS TO EBOLA OUTBREAK IN CONGO—The IRC is responding to a recent outbreak of the lethal Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo. IRC staff are providing logistical support and medical supplies to the Congolese ministry of health while at the same time training health staff and communities in areas bordering the affected territory.

At least five cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever have been confirmed in Kasai Occidental province, where authorities have reported more than 160 deaths. (Kasai province is located in a different part of the country than North Kivu, where violence has recently broken out.) The outbreak was confirmed as Ebola by laboratories in Gabon and at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Although about 370 cases have been identified, it is not clear if they are all caused by Ebola, since blood samples examined in Kinshasa also revealed traces of the Shigella bacteria.

On September 7, the IRC began training Congolese ministry of health staff in Demba, near the site of the outbreak, to identify and isolate suspicious cases. At six health facilities surrounding the area, the IRC has provided emergency medical kits, disinfectants, and protective equipment including gloves and masks.

Dr. Pascal Ngoy, the IRC's primary health care advisor in Kinshasa, says that IRC-supported health centers have also launched a campaign to promote hygienic practices that will help keep the epidemic from spreading.

"Demba is prepared," he said. "We are informing the community about elementary hygiene measures such as washing hands, avoiding the handling of sick bodies in funeral and burial ceremonies, protecting water sources and the rapid referral of patients showing symptoms of the disease to health centers."

The Ebola virus is spread through contact with infected people, and its symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. It often proves fatal within two to three days, with victims dying from severe dehydration. Local funerary rites, which involve the handling of dead bodies and a lack of hygiene, are thought to have contributed to the spread of the disease in the Kasai. There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease.

The IRC has been working in Kasai Occidental since 2002 with the support of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. IRC programs currently support 53 health centers in three of the province's health zones, providing medical supplies and training local health staff to provide primary health care to severely war-affected populations.