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DR Congo: Ebola Outbreak - Dec 2008

Disaster description

Two consecutive Ebola outbreaks occured in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first one in 2007 and the second one in 2008. On 2 Jan 2009, 40 cases were registered in one month, including 28 female cases. Out of the 40 cases, 13 were below the age of 15, while 25 were above 15. A total of 13 persons died of the disease and 173 cases were monitored. Six new alarms were sounded, on the basis of five in the Western Kasai province, four in Kampungu, and one in the Katanga province (Lubumbashi). Psycho-social support to the victims, early detection, water chlorination, and good hygiene practices promotion were all actions taken by the Red Cross and its partners, which contributed to breaking the chain of contamination of the disease within the community. (IFRC, 27 Jul 2009)

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