DRC: Emergency Team Supports Rapid Response to Ebola Cases

An emergency team with the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is working with the Ministry of Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other international organizations to assess and support a rapid response to an Ebola outbreak in the country, confirmed by national health authorities on May 8. The MSF team is based in the Bikoro health zone of Equateur province and in Kinshasa. It will support the deployment of a rapid and tailored response to better detect suspected cases and contain the epidemic.

DRC occasionally experiences Ebola outbreaks; In the last few years, MSF has responded on a number of occasions, including to outbreaks in Likati (2017, three confirmed Ebola cases); Boende (2014, 24 confirmed Ebola cases); Isiro (2012); and Mweka (2007, 18 confirmed Ebola cases).

“MSF has worked alongside the Congolese authorities in the past to care for patients suffering from Ebola and bring outbreaks under control. At the moment, there is an experienced MSF team in Bikoro, made up of medics, water and sanitation experts, health promoters, logisticians, and an epidemiologist. The team is working with the national authorities and other international organizations to assess the situation and to ensure that the outbreak is contained.”

—Julien Raickman, MSF head of mission in DRC