Ebola crosses borders; the response also has to care for children

WHO’s 8 October bulletin qualifies the picture of a national decline. It records 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths in DRC as of the 6th. Across the three completed epidemiological weeks compared, weekly new cases rise from 475 in the first week to 487 in the last, an increase of 2.5%. Progress in some areas is not the course of the whole epidemic.^[1]

The virus also tests cross-border cooperation. WHO’s 7 October briefing says Kenya is monitoring 55 contacts of the first imported patient, who died on the 5th after travelling through Uganda. It praises prompt notification and recommends screening and tracing rather than blanket travel restrictions. Early reporting creates a chance to find exposed people.^[2]

Families need another kind of support during admission. Radio Okapi, citing UNICEF, reports twelve supported nurseries near treatment centres in eastern Congo. They care for and medically monitor children while parents receive treatment. Assistance also concerns bereaved children and those separated from relatives. These are different circumstances, all requiring support that fear of infection can make hard to find within a family.^[3]