DRC: Suspected plague kills 58 in Ituri

KINSHASA, 29 July 2004 (IRIN) - Health officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said on Thursday 58 people, suspected to have caught the plague, had died so far this year in the northeastern district of Ituri. They were among the 1,042 suspected plague cases recorded since January, according to a joint Ministry of Health and World Health Organization mission sent to the area from 18 to 26 July. "Ituri remains the area in the DRC most affected by plague because of incessant population displacements caused by the continued fighting between rebel groups," Dr Vital Mondonge Makuma, deputy director of the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit at the Ministry of Health, said. The mission reported that most of the cases occurred in Mahagi Territory, 140 km north east of Bunia, within Ituri District. With 517 suspected cases of the disease recorded, the health zone of Rethy is the hardest hit: 31 deaths were registered there from January to May. During the same period, the Logo zone registered 340 suspected cases and 15 deaths; Rimba 183 suspected cases and 10 deaths; and Nyarambe two deaths. There seems to be no let up. "Even if we can no longer call this a severe outbreak, cases continue to be reported with a 5.5 percent mortality rate," Mondonge said. Dr Jean-Marie Yaméogo of WHO Kinshasa told IRIN on Thursday: "Even though the region has been a hot spot for the plague since 1928, the absence of proper laboratory facilities in Ituri has made it impossible to confirm scientifically that those infected are indeed suffering from plague." The mission's report shows that 90 percent of the cases are suspected to be bubonic plague, 7 percent pulmonary plague, while 3 percent are suspected to be a variant that affects the blood. Local committees have been set up to sensitise the public to the problem and to sterilise the homes of those who have fallen ill. Dr Tarcis Elongo of WHO Bunia told IRIN that one of the factors encouraging the epidemic was the climate. "The high humidity during the rainy season forces [people] to store their food indoors, and this attracts rats and fleas that are carriers of the disease," He said. "The fact that people are forced to live in the bush during fighting has also contributed to its spread."