At least 282 confirmed cases of Ebola have now been reported in Congo’s ongoing outbreak as authorities in Brazil said they were looking into two suspected cases.
The two patients who recently arrived in Brazil from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak is ongoing, exhibited symptoms such as fever and chills.
The first patient is a Belgian traveller who came from Uganda to Rio de Janeiro. The Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases, of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), administered initial testing, which came back positive only for malaria. The patient remains isolated and the people who had contact with him are being monitored, according to health officials.
As soon as the man arrived at the Evandro Chagas Institute, he experienced symptoms including “cough, chills and diarrhea,” officials said. He will remain isolated until a conclusive diagnosis is made.
“The measure is precautionary, considering the patient’s travel history,” Fiocruz said in a press release on Sunday.
The São Paulo State Health Department also reported that a man hospitalized with suspected Ebola virus infection has tested positive for meningococcal meningitis, which was confirmed after a PCR blood test.
The suspected case of Ebola is still under investigation and the patient will be evaluated through laboratory and genomic analysis, according to the agency.
The 37-year-old man had recently travelled to the DRC and, upon arriving in Brazil, developed a high fever. He was admitted to the Emílio Ribas Institute of Infectious Diseases in São Paulo.
The Ebola outbreak remains focused in Congo’s eastern Ituri province, where 264 of the cases have been recorded, Congo’s Ministry of Health said. Congo has reported more than 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.
According to the health ministry, the main challenges in containing the outbreak include early detection and rapid isolation of cases, rigorous contact tracing, safe and dignified burials and strengthening infection prevention and control in health facilities.
The contact tracing coverage rate so far is 45 per cent with 220 suspected cases under investigation, the ministry said.