Early detection of an Ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo
In August of 2014, PREDICT assisted in the early detection of an Ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With many of the country’s resources out of the country to assist in the massive West African outbreak, the PREDICT team was called on to assist.
It started on August 11, when a woman who had shown signs of hemorrhagic fever died of unknown causes in the village of Ikanamongo in Equateur Province. By August 18, nearby villages had reported 24 similar cases. A national response team went to the remote site and was able to deliver eight samples from individuals who had been in direct contact with the index case to the capital city of Kinshasa by August 22.