VZCZCXRO2828
OO RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #1128/01 2630559
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200559Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6924
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5081
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2099
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0533
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 001128 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS, AIDAC 
 
USAID/W FOR A/AID HFORE 
USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS, GGOTTLIEB 
DCHA/OFDA FOR KLUU, AFERRARA, ACONVERY, KCHANNELL, MSHIRLEY 
DCHA/FFP FOR TANDERSON, NCOX, TMCRAE 
DCHA/OTI FOR RJENKINS, KHUBER 
USAID/AFR FOR KALMQUIST, BDUNFORD, JBORNS 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/OFDA/ECARO JMYER, ADWYER 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/FFP 
GENEVA FOR NYKYLOH 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM 
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER 
NEW YORK FOR TMALY 
USMISSION UN ROME FOR RNEWBERG 
CDC ATLANTA 
DHHS FOR WSTEIGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL PHUM CG
 
SUBJECT: DRC: DISASTER DECLARATION FOR EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER 
OUTBREAK 
 
REF: A. KINSHASA 1075 
 ¶B. KINSHASA 1085 
 ¶C. KINSHASA 1094 
 ¶D. KINSHASA 1121 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This is an action request for emergency assistance. 
Please see paragraph 10. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Following laboratory confirmation of Ebola virus 
in Mweka rural health zone in Kasai Occidental Province, the 
Congolese Minister of Health has requested international assistance 
to contain the outbreak.  The outbreak is beyond the government's 
capacity to manage effectively, and it is in the interest of the USG 
to provide assistance.  The Charge d'Affaires declares a disaster 
and requests an initial USD 1,000,000 (one million) in emergency 
relief assistance.  The funds will be used to improve case 
management, strengthen laboratory response, and to design and 
implement measures to prevent the further spread of the virus.  End 
summary. 
 
----------------- 
Current Situation 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Following initial delays in the reporting of suspected 
Ebola cases, GDRC, WHO, MSF, and USG (incl. CDC) health teams have 
coordinated effectively to identify and verify the virus.  Although 
local health authorities first observed the symptoms of Ebola 
hemorrhagic fever in Mweka rural health zone in Kasai Occidental 
Province on April 27, they did not notify national health 
authorities until mid-August.  Staff from the UN World Health 
Organization (WHO), the GDRC Ministry of Health (MoH), and 
USAID-funded Project AXxes teams collected samples from the affected 
area and shipped them to the CDC and the Biological Laboratory of 
Franceville, Gabon, at the end of the week of September 3.  Both 
laboratories confirmed positive results for Ebola hemorrhagic fever 
on September 10. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) As of September 17, Kasai Province health officials have 
reported 380 cases of Ebola virus, including 171 deaths, 
representing a 45 percent mortality rate.  Many of the victims have 
died within 48 hours of presenting symptoms, including fever, 
vomiting, headache, bloody diarrhea, and joint and muscle aches. 
The epicenter of the outbreak is in Benandongo village in the 
Kampungu health area, Mweka rural health zone.  To date, the 
outbreak has affected three rural health zones, specifically Mweka, 
Luebo, and Bena Leka.  Seven individuals are in quarantine in 
Kampungu, of whom three are critically ill, one is moderately ill, 
and three are recovering.  Health teams are closely monitoring 117 
people in Kampungu, 32 people in Mweka, and 8 people in Bulape, all 
known to have had contact with infected individuals. 
 
---------------- 
Response Efforts 
---------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Since Health Minister Makwenge Kaput officially declared 
the outbreak on September 10, the MoH has hosted daily information 
and coordination meetings with donors and relief organizations.  The 
MoH dispatched a team to Kasai Occidental to assess the needs, 
coordinate response efforts, and collect and relay information 
regarding the outbreak. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On September 5, prior to confirmation of the Ebola 
outbreak, USAID assembled a team through Project AXxes to assist 
with early detection and response efforts.  The USAID team has 
delivered 400 kg of relief supplies and equipment, including 
 
KINSHASA 00001128  002 OF 003 
 
 
medicine, a manual on managing Ebola outbreaks, and gloves, masks, 
disposable gowns, chlorine, body bags, and hazardous waste disposal 
material.  USAID has received approval to provide personal 
protective equipment (PPE) to response personnel for disease control 
and containment efforts. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) USG Mission collaborative efforts include daily update 
cables by the embassy Economic Officer and the Public Affairs 
Officer is preparing information in conjunction with a CDC epidemic 
communications expert for the local and international press. 
CDC/Atlanta is providing virus confirmation testing until the local 
laboratory is established.  Shigellosis and Typhoid epidemics are 
also occurring at the same time.  CDC conducted a field assessment 
September 13 and 14 to identify lab and case detection sites with 
USAID Project AXxes partners.  The CDC team recommended, and the 
MOH-led Ebola Coordination Committee agreed, to establish an Ebola 
testing lab at the Luebo Hospital, about 5 miles from the epidemic 
epicenter. CDC/Atlanta has sent a 10-member team to the DRC to 
assist with response strategies, including 62 boxes of equipment and 
supplies.  An additional 2500 kilos of lab material will arrive via 
air freight this week.  The specialists and equipment will arrive in 
Luebo over the coming days to establish the Luebo Ebola lab. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Other international contributions include additional 
medical staff, PPEs, and isolation facilities provided by WHO.  The 
World Food Program (WFP) is providing free transport of equipment 
and materials to Kananga, the provincial capital 125 kms and eight 
hours by vehicle from Mweka.  Landing strips at Mweka and Luebo, two 
hours and half an hour respectively from the epicenter, are short 
and rough, allowing only for small planes capable of carrying at 
most one ton of cargo at a time.  The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC), 
Canada, Medecins sans Frontihres (MSF), and the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are also providing assistance for 
site distribution. 
 
---------------------- 
Request for Assistance 
---------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The MoH has officially requested the following 
international assistance: medical expertise and logistics to 
increase the capacity for case detection, isolation, and transfer of 
patients to health facilities for treatment; sample collection and 
shipment to laboratories abroad; and water, sanitation, and hygiene 
interventions to prevent further transmission of the Ebola virus. 
 
-------------- 
Action Request 
-------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The current Ebola outbreak is beyond the GDRC capacity to 
manage effectively and is of sufficient magnitude to warrant USG 
involvement.  The GDRC has requested international support to 
contain the outbreak, and it is in the interest of the USG to 
provide assistance.  On this basis, the Charge d'Affaires declares a 
disaster and requests USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 
to authorize USD 1,000,000 (one million) for initial emergency 
response activities in affected areas.  Mission plans to use these 
funds to respond to the needs expressed by the MoH. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) USG assistance will be provided to CDC to strengthen the 
ability to respond to the disaster through the training of local lab 
staff; establishing a dry blood spot system; providing support to 
establish a case detection system in affected zones; procurement of 
reagents and specimen material; transportation of specimens to 
Kinshasa and Atlanta; and improvement of the DRC national lab in 
Kinshasa to ensure better handling of specimens in future. USG 
 
KINSHASA 00001128  003 OF 003 
 
 
assistance will help WHO to strengthen surveillance by improving 
case detection skills of health care providers and community health 
workers; reinforce universal hygiene measures; provide psychosocial 
support to patients and their families; disseminate guidelines for 
prevention; detect and manage hemorrhagic fevers; and establish an 
Ebola alert system in the two Kasai provinces using appropriate 
communication means.  Finally, USG assistance will be provided to 
UNICEF to develop key messages for local health personal and 
surrounding communities; and for the development of job aids and 
mass media materials. 
 
---------- 
Conclusion 
---------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The hemorrhagic fever outbreak caused by Ebola virus in 
Kasai Occidental province is not yet contained and there are new 
cases and victims daily.  Cases are not limited to the area 
immediately surrounding the epicenter, as there are some confirmed 
and suspected cases as far away as Kananga, 125 kms southeast, 
Tshikapa, 125 kms southwest and only 50 kms from the Angolan border, 
 
SIPDIS 
and Muena Ditu, 300 kms southeast along the rail line in neighboring 
Kasai Oriental province.  Therefore, it is critical that the US 
Mission respond at this time with USD 1,000,000 (one million) in USG 
disaster assistance to CDC, WHO and UNICEF to support efforts to 
contain the virus.  The GDRC has requested assistance and has stated 
that it will accept USG humanitarian contributions. 
 
BROCK