The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola could reach Portugal, but the possibility is low, Portuguese infectious-disease and tropical-medicine specialist Jaime Nina told Lusa. He pointed to the location of Portugal’s large community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: many Portuguese residents are in the country’s west, near Kinshasa, rather than the outbreak’s epicenter in the east.
Nina said Portugal has a referral system for suspected cases. Adults would be sent to Lisbon’s Curry Cabral Hospital and children to Hospital Dona Estefânia, both of which have strict isolation services. He said preparedness is in place, although the response would depend on the person potentially infected and the care they might need.
The current outbreak is centered in Ituri province in eastern DR Congo. The report said the country had recorded more than 10,000 infections and nearly 5,000 deaths. Nina described it as apparently the third Bundibugyo outbreak and the largest so far, with an incubation period, clinical picture and mortality rate that appear similar to those of other Ebola strains. He said there is no vaccine for this strain.
Ebola viruses are zoonotic and are present in animals, particularly bats, Nina said. Direct transmission from bats to people is rare; infection can instead pass through other animals, such as monkeys. He also warned that transmission can occur after death, making close contact during funerals a possible source of contagion.
The outbreak is unfolding in a region also affected by cholera, malaria, mpox and long-running armed conflict. Nina cautioned that attention to Ebola could lead to other illnesses being neglected. He cited a study by Médecins Sans Frontières in Guinea and Sierra Leone during the 2014 West African epidemic, which found malaria was the leading cause of death in both countries at the outbreak’s peak.
Sources: Observador.