The Ebola outbreak in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the second-worst on record, with the official death toll passing a grim milestone of 1,500. Experts believe the true number of fatalities during this outbreak, which was declared in May, is much higher. And in another alarming update, authorities in DR Congo confirmed on Thursday that the virus was spreading much faster than in previous outbreaks.
Next door in Uganda, a country that also reported infections in May, the picture is entirely different. The country’s health minister described a “moment of joy” as the last Ebola patient was released from hospital two weeks ago. Uganda only ever recorded 20 cases and two deaths from the virus.
According to Dr Kasonde Mwinga, the World Health Organization’s Uganda chief, the relatively low number of casualties was not “by luck or chance”. “It’s because people invested in preparedness,” she told the BBC. This outbreak is the 17th to have emerged in DR Congo since Ebola was discovered 50 years ago.
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One example is the case of a 12-year-old girl who arrived at a hospital in the central district of Luwero in 2011. Her symptoms sparked caution: she was isolated, medics wore personal protective equipment when treating her and when she died three hours later her body was carefully sealed in a coffin. These precautions were able to halt the spread of what a blood sample later confirmed to be Ebola.
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