Admin l Monday, August 16, 2021
ABIJAN – Cote d’Ivoire has recorded the first cases of Ebola virus since the outbreak of the virus in the Africa, United States and some parts of the world.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Cote d’Ivoire country office of the WHO said that the virus was found in samples collected from a patient who was hospitalized in the commercial capital of Abidjan, after arriving from Guinea.
According to WHO, initial investigations found that the patient had travelled to Cote d’Ivoire by road and arrived in Abidjan on 12 August. The patient was admitted to hospital after experiencing a fever and is currently receiving treatment.
Earlier this year, Guinea experienced a four-month long Ebola outbreak, which was declared over on the 19 June 2021. WHO said that there is currently no indication that the current case in Cote d’Ivoire is linked to the Guinea outbreak, but added that further investigation will identify the strain, and determine if there is a connection between the two outbreaks.
This year Ebola outbreaks have been declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea, but it is the first time an outbreak has occurred in a large capital city such as Abidjan since the 2014–2016 Ebola outbreak.
“It is of immense concern that this outbreak has been declared in Abidjan, a metropolis of more than 4 million people,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “However, much of the world’s expertise in tackling Ebola is here on the continent and Cote d’Ivoire can tap into this experience and bring the response to full speed. The country is one of the six that WHO has supported recently to beef up their Ebola readiness and this quick diagnosis shows preparedness is paying off.”
