Ebola: IOM urges wider surveillance beyond formal routes in DR Congo

Infrared thermometers for Ebola screening are distributed at an internally displaced site in Bunia, DR Congo.

Seventy-one confirmed Ebola cases have been detected along transit routes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since the outbreak began almost six months ago, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The cases were picked up at points of entry and control, 95 per cent of them on informal routes that bypass official checkpoints , Dr. Andrew Mbala, IOM ’s Regional Ebola Coordinator, told journalists in Geneva, speaking from Nairobi.

With transmission continuing, people on the move and funding running short, the agency says surveillance has to reach well beyond formal border crossings if the outbreak is to be contained.

“Often when people think about response and especially in this context of Ebola, many people tend to think about the hospitals, the treatment centres, the isolation wards and all that,” he said. “ We need to think about the mobility of the population .”

According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), more than 10,400 confirmed cases and 5,103 deaths had been reported in the DRC as of 31 October.

IOM maps the places where people gather, such as markets, bus stations and places of worship. It also maps what it calls “the mobility corridor”, meaning where people are travelling to and from, including areas hit by the outbreak.

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