Two infants have tragically passed away from Ebola at a church-run orphanage in Ituri province, which is the center of the current outbreak. Officials announced this on Wednesday.
Additionally, three caregivers, including a nun, have tested positive for the virus.
One of the deceased infants, named Buswaza, was just a few weeks old. He had been taken to the orphanage in Bunia after his mother’s death from unknown reasons. Shortly after arriving, he developed a fever and succumbed to Ebola within days.
The second infant, Cherry, who was one of a set of triplets, was hospitalized alongside five other children displaying Ebola symptoms. While the other five tested negative and were released, Cherry died in the care of the Evangelical Medical Center (CME) on Wednesday.
The orphanage in Bunia is home to 69 children, many of whom have been orphaned due to prolonged violence in eastern Congo. Medical professionals visit regularly to monitor the children’s condition and the wellbeing of the staff.
It’s possible that Buswaza and Cherry acquired Ebola either from their mother or from other sources outside the orphanage, meaning there might not have been any internal transmissions yet, though staff are still quite worried.
“We are nuns, but we are also human beings, so we are very emotional,” one sister expressed.
UNICEF has highlighted that the Ituri region was already facing severe poverty and malnutrition before this Ebola outbreak. Children are especially vulnerable to coming into contact with infectious bodily fluids, making it very challenging for malnourished kids to survive the disease.
The agency further noted that Ebola can lead to abrupt separations from caregivers, leaving many children orphaned, and in some communities, families affected by the virus face stigma.
Congo’s health officials mentioned that while contact tracing and diagnostics have significantly improved, they still lack crucial information about the outbreak’s origin and timeline.
The latest theory revolves around Pastor Palki Makundi Dennis, who died on February 3 at age 44. His body was transported in a wooden coffin to Mombwar, a mining area often linked to the outbreak. His coffin, which had been under pressure from others and rough road conditions, ended up cracking.
As a respected community member, the condition of his coffin upset many locals, leading to a decision to move his body to a new container. This action might have exposed people to potential Ebola, while burning the cracked coffin sparked suspicions regarding curses and witchcraft.
A wake for Makundi drew around 80 attendees, where it’s customary in Congo to touch and kiss the deceased.
Despite being diagnosed with a significant abdominal infection in Bunia, Makundi had never been tested for Ebola. At the time, few hospitals in that region were equipped to test for the rare Bundibugyo strain accurately.
His funeral on February 4 may have marked the beginning of a significant outbreak, now affecting at least 635 people and resulting in 127 deaths. His illness and subsequent death align with estimates from epidemiologists, suggesting the Bundibugyo epidemic started four to six months prior to the official Ebola declaration on May 15.
