Published Date: 2009-01-14 19:00:42
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (04): (KS)
Archive Number: 20090114.0159
EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (04): (KASAI
OCCIDENTAL)
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Date: Wed 14 Jan 2009
Source: The Canadian Press [edited]
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hKOhr0XpeTF3SlzMRX0XsYabV5bw>
Canada is sending expert assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo
[Congo DR] to help the central African country contain its latest Ebola
outbreak. Allen Grolla, a biologist from the National Microbiology
Laboratory in Winnipeg, is heading for Kinshasa, Dr Frank Plummer, the
lab's scientific director, said on Wednesday [14 Jan 2009].
Grolla, who works in the special pathogens program, has had extensive
outbreak experience as part of a team manning a portable diagnostic
laboratory developed by the Winnipeg group. The small portable lab, which
can operate safely under extremely basic conditions, is frequently pressed
into service in Ebola and Marburg fever outbreaks by WHO.
There are still only 7 confirmed cases, and the outbreak appears to have
peaked, according to WHO. Given that state of play, WHO has not asked
Winnipeg to send the entire portable lab and a full team to operate it. But
Grolla will be taking a component of the portable lab with him, a loan that
will allow the Congolese to do confirmatory testing in their national lab
in Kinshasa. Currently, the country is sending samples for confirmatory
testing to more sophisticated labs in South Africa and Gabon.
"Essentially, they haven't had the appropriate containment to work on
clinical specimens that are suspect for Ebola or some other viral
hemorrhagic fevers," Plummer said from Ottawa. "So this will give them that
capability in Kinshasa so specimens won't have to be sent to South Africa
or Gabon." Being able to do the work in the country will speed up the
process of identifying and isolating people who are actually infected with
Ebola, one of a group of related viral hemorrhagic fevers. In the early
stages, these deadly diseases have symptoms that could be confused with
many other conditions. Isolating true patients before they can infect
others is key to stopping an outbreak.
South Africa's national laboratory and the lab in Gabon are also sending
one expert apiece, WHO spokesperson Gregory Hartl said on Wednesday [14 Jan
2009] from Geneva. Helping the Congolese to do their own testing should
help build capacity in that country, which has had a number of Ebola and
Marburg fever outbreaks over the years. "It's certainly in WHO's interest
to have good diagnostic capacity, laboratory capacity in the region. And
it's in the country's interest too. The faster we can get reliable
diagnosis, the faster we can react," Hartl said. "There's certainly a
rational for countries like Congo DR, which have had several Ebola
outbreaks over the years and many rumored Ebola outbreaks, to have [their]
own diagnostic capacity."
--
communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[This report indicates that the number of laboratory confirmed cases of
Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the current outbreak in the Mweka District of
Congo DR has risen to 7.
A map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be accessed at
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/congo_demrep_pol98.jpg>, and the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map is available at
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=214139&v=-4.5,22,5>. The location of
Mweka District (the site of the outbreak) can be found at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mweka,_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo> or
by downloading the pdf file of the ICRF report at
<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7N5R2X?OpenDocument>. -
Mod.CP]
See Also
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (03): (KS) 20090111.0113Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (02): (KS) 20090108.0082
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: (KS), WHO 20090102.0013
2008
---
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (03): (KS) 20081231.4133
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (02): (KS) 20081229.4093
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: (KS), WHO 20081227.4086
Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR (02): (KS), Ebola conf. 20081225.4068
Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR: (Kasai) RFI 20081222.4027
Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR: Kasai Occ, Ebola susp, RFI 20081009.3200
Hemorrhagic fever, fatal - Congo DR: (KA), RFI 20080823.2630
Ebola hemorrhagic fever, suspected - Congo DR (02) 20080702.2017
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp., corr. 20080604.1790
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp., corr. 20080604.1789
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp. 20080603.1779
....................cp/msp/sh
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