Following an alert by the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Ministry of Health in April that there was a possible outbreak of Ebola in Equateur Province, ALIMA sent a team to the village of Mpombo, where a suspected Ebola case was later confirmed. The patient was transferred to the nearest Ebola Treatment Center (ETC), set up by ALIMA in Itipo.
Dr. Albert Tshiula, ALIMA’s emergency coordinator for the Ebola outbreak in DRC, along with Corneille Lokuli, a member of the health promotion team specializing in psycho-social care, talk with villagers from Mpombo, where a suspected Ebola case has been reported.
48-year-old Denise Mpua is experiencing Ebola-like symptoms, such as high fever and vomiting. She is about to be evacuated from her home in Mpombo village, by ambulance, to the nearest ETC, which was set up by ALIMA in Itipo.
Denise’s family, along with other people from her village, gather to watch as she and her husband, Godefroid Booto Lopeka, drive away in the ambulance.
Denise and her husband arrive at the ETC in Itipo.
A member of the ALIMA medical team, dressed in Personal Protective Equipment, assists Denise, as she enters the ETC.
At ALIMA’s ETC in Itipo, members of the medical team provide first aid and take blood samples from Denise.
For the first time in the DRC, ALIMA opened an Ebola Treatment Center equipped with certified P4 classification Biosecure Emergency Care Units (CUBE).
The CUBE is a self-contained and easily transportable system for outbreaks of highly-infectious disease, which requires fewer medical personnel and medical equipment than traditional ETCs. Health workers are better protected and the teams can work in a more serene way. The patient also benefits from the transparent walls which allow them to remain in contact with the outside, including family members, without the risk of contamination. If the outbreak evolves, the CUBE can be decontaminated, disassembled and relocated to other areas, if necessary.
Denise waits in the “red zone” pending the results of her exams.
Denise’s husband, Godefroid, is happy: the results of his wife’s exams have just arrived and they confirm that she was not contaminated by the Ebola virus. Even so, she continues to be treated for her symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, fever). Soon, she will be able to leave the “red zone” and, after 2 days of hospitalization, she and her husband can return home and be reunited with their family.
Footnotes
Photos by Caroline Thirion / ALIMA. This project was financed by the World Health Organisation.
