DRC- Ébola


00:04 – Shots of the intervention close to Lokolia
00:14 – MSF team getting ready to disinfect a house close to Lokolia

JOSÉ MAS - Responsible for the MSF intervention in the Equator region
00:54 The Ebola epidemic, in the Equator province, was declared in August this year. Since then, Médecins Sans Frontières, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, have opened two treatment centres, the first one in Lokolia, and later the other one in Boende. We have treated 65 patients, about 50% of them testing positive. Since then, since August, we have treated all the suspected cases and we can already say that 42 days have passed since the latest case was confirmed. Hence, despite having to keep actively monitoring in order to rapidly detect any potential Ebola outbreak, we can conclude that this epidemic outbreak has come to an end. (1:44)

1:45 – Shots of the Ebola treatment centre

2:44 – Treatment centre – recovered patients being discharged

JOSÉ MAS - Responsible for the MSF intervention in the Equator region

3:07 -As Médecins Sans Frontières, we are especially focused on ensuring an effective, massive response, should a new or potential Ebola outbreak occurred.
Then in this particular case, together with the local authorities, we have tried to ensure an operational treatment centre, until the end of the 42 days. We have supplied medicines and disinfection material to this centre. Also, the people working in it are MoH staff that had worked with us before during the outbreak, so they are already trained.(3:48)

3:49 Staff leaving the Treatment Centre risk zone

JOSÉ MAS - Responsible for the MSF intervention in the Equator region
4:27 The Congo outbreak has been more limited probably to the sum of several factors, but mainly the very response to Ebola and the geographical factor.
On the one hand, the epidemic contention measures such as contact tracing and follow-up, early warning detection and medical care needed for suspected and possible cases, put in place just in the right time and then the fact that the area has limited access contributed to a much more contained spread of the epidemic compared to the outbreak in West Africa. (5:08)