CHILDREN in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are twice as likely to die from the Ebola virus as adults, because many are already severely malnourished and battling other infections, aid agencies have warned.
Save the Children has analysed data emerging from the new outbreak, in which there have so far been about 808 confirmed cases and 192 confirmed deaths, the World Health Organization reports. Save the Children said that, although cases in children were currently lower than in other age groups, existing data suggested that the infection was more likely to be fatal. Aged 14 or under, they were more than twice as likely to die after contracting the illness than the 15-to-44s, Save the Children said.
At least 52 children, including 16 toddlers and infants, have contracted the virus. Nineteen of them have died.
The outbreak has spread to Uganda, with 19 confirmed cases and two deaths. The current outbreak, the 17th in the DRC, is already the third largest on record.
The United Nations has also warned of a spike in child infections in the DRC as the infection spreads rapidly. There are no vaccines for the current, Bundibugyo, strain of the virus.
UNICEF’s lead for the virus, Dr Douglas Noble, said: “These are already very vulnerable children; so the capacity for this community to absorb any additional stressors was already stretched to breaking point.” More than half of the under-fives in Ituri Province, the remote epicentre of the outbreak, were “chronically malnourished”, he said.
An orphanage in Bunia recently recorded the deaths of two babies, one less than two weeks old, as well as their mother, from the virus.
Conflict is making it even harder to treat people: tens of thousands have been displaced by conflict in the DRC.
There have been some recovery stories. The BBC reported that a patient, Daniel Kitambala, recovered after three weeks of treatment. As he left the hospital, he said: “God is great. I am well now.”
An American medical missionary who contracted the virus, Dr Peter Stafford, was immediately flown with his family for treatment in Germany and has recovered. Dr Stafford, who works for the Reformed mission agency Serge, was treated in a private hospital in Berlin. He thanked the hospital staff, and said: “Our thoughts remain with the people in the Congo, who do not have access to such care.”
Religious leaders are helping to educate communities about the dangers of the virus. Isaac Bataga, who works at a health centre in Bunia, Ituri, told Tearfund that many in his community neither believed that the virus could kill nor understood why, to avoid spreading it, traditional funeral practices should not be followed.
He said: “Some people still refuse to believe that Ebola can kill. When it first arrived, the population did not really understand what the virus was. This misunderstanding has led to resistance and fear within the community. Even today, some residents are still afraid to seek medical care.”
David Munkey, of World Vision in the DRC, said: “What’s underestimated is just how much needs to happen to sensitise people to Ebola, and that can’t be done by outsiders wearing full body suits. It needs to come from trusted faith leaders, pastors and priests, health and school officials, and community leaders.
“Locals need to be brought into the discussion. They can’t be seen as passive observers to a crisis that’s directly affecting them. There is going to be mistrust, uncertainty, anger, and great anxiety. That’s why our response is working hand in hand with faith leaders.”
The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Mark Tanner, has launched an appeal for partner dioceses, Aru and Boga, which are running programmes to provide equipment for health centres and hospitals.
stewardship.org.uk/pages/ChesterEbolaAppeal