1st Ebola case confirmed in city of 2 million people

BENI, Congo — After feeling sick for several days, the pastor boarded a bus to eastern Congo’s largest city. Only upon arrival at his destination did anyone suspect he had the highly deadly and infectious Ebola virus.

During his trip to Goma, the 46yearold preacher managed to pass three different health checkpoints aimed at stopping those who are sick with Ebola and contagious.

Now health authorities along his route are trying to hunt down all those he may have been in contact with after the man became Goma’s first confirmed Ebola case on Sunday.

It’s a crucial task to contain the spread of Ebola in Goma, home to more than 2 million people and the largest city to confirm a case of the disease since the epidemic here began nearly a year ago.

“It’s the door of this region to the rest of the world,” said Dr. Harouna Djingarey, infectious disease program manager for the World Health Organization’s regional office in eastern Congo. “From here you can fly to everywhere in the world. If we don’t have the control over the contacts, some highrisk contacts may fly, take a plane and go somewhere.”

Health experts have long feared that the disease responsible for killing nearly 1,700 people since August would eventually make its way to Goma. The city is an important transit point for the region and beyond and a bustling trade hub drawing travelers from throughout Congo’s east.

Speaking at a U.N. meeting in Geneva on the outbreak, Congo’s minister of health, Dr. Oly Ilunga, called the spread of Ebola to Goma “a warning.”

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the development was so worrisome that he was reconvening the agency’s emergency committee as soon as possible “to assess the threat of this development.”

The committee has been convened three times in the past to decide whether or not the epidemic warrants being declared a global emergency; it has declined every time to do so. WHO’s Dr. Michael Ryan, who is directing the agency’s Ebola response, said the meeting would be held this week.

Ryan said 30 contacts in the Goma case had already been vaccinated and the remaining 30 would be vaccinated on Tuesday.

Congo’s health ministry sought to reassure people late Sunday that the situation was under control, though some already were on edge after learning about the sick pastor.

“God help us if Ebola is now in Goma,” said Baudouine Rudahigwa, 30, who immediately feared the case could prompt restrictions against her and fellow residents. “My children are now on alert that they can’t greet or play with others. They are washing their hands all the time.”

The health ministry said the pastor, who has not been identified, had preached at seven churches during his evangelical trip to Butembo, one of the towns hardest hit by Ebola in Congo.

Somehow he was able to evade detection during the roadside health checkpoints, where all travelers get off the bus, wash their hands and have their temperature taken.

“During the checks, he did not seem to show signs of the disease. In addition, at each checkpoint he wrote different names and surnames on the lists of travelers, probably indicating his desire to hide his identity and state of health,” the ministry said.

Upon arrival in Goma, he sought medical treatment and health workers there immediately suspected he had Ebola, which was later confirmed by a lab test.