HOURHis two-year-old daughter died first, then his mother, then his wife. But Bope Mpona Heritier still had no idea what disease had taken their lives. The 25-year-old then also began showing symptoms. When his blood was tested and sent to the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, the results confirmed that he had the Ebola virus.
“I felt pain everywhere,” he says. “I had a migraine, sharp pain in my eyes and throat, vomiting. I couldn't eat anything because I had no appetite, so I lost a lot of weight.”
No one in Bulapa could have imagined that a virus as deadly as Ebola would reach their remote area in Kasai province. But on September 4 this year, the Ministry of Health declared an outbreak there16th place in the country. Ten days later, there were 35 confirmed cases, including 16 deaths, some among health care workers. Coordinated efforts from multiple agencies worked around the clock to contain the phenomenon.
Now health workers and residents of Bulape hope they are on the road to recovery. The countdown has begun October 19, when the last patient left the hospital. If no new cases are reported for 42 days, the outbreak could be officially declared over by early December.
But reaching this point was not easy.
Ebola is a rare but severe viral disease This causes fever, weakness and muscle pain before developing “wet” symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and, in many cases, internal and external bleeding.
It is transmitted to humans from wild animals such as bats and primates, and spreads through the body fluids of those infected. If left untreated, it is often fatal.
Because the virus was discovered in 1976were 16 outbreaks in DRCAccording to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The most recent large-scale outbreak, the largest in DRC history, occurred in North Kivu and Ituri between 2018 and 2020. It was the second largest outbreak in the world after one in West Africa from 2014 to 2016 which spread across several countries, infecting more than 28,600 people and killing 11,325.
The latest outbreak was complicated by the remoteness of the affected area. “It took some of us four days to get to Bulape from Kinshasa because we had to cross forests,” recalls Chiara Montaldo, medical response coordinator in Kasai. Doctors Without Borders (MSF). “We had to bring everything from outside: medicines, materials for building tents and even water disinfectants,” she says.
Shortly after arriving in the affected area, MSF medics World Health Organization and the DRC Ministry of Health opened a 32-bed Ebola treatment center at Bulape General Hospital, where Heritier was admitted.
“By the time we got there, I was unconscious, so I didn’t know where I was,” he says. “I received treatment early and was vaccinated, so MSF told me I had a better chance of survival than many others.”
Bulape's isolation, while a logistical nightmare, also helped keep the virus local. In contrast, the 2014–2016 outbreak Africa quickly spread across three countries.
Montaldo says: “The number of this outbreak was on a scale we could never have imagined. Ebola. In North Kivu the numbers were also high, but there the main problem was conflict. [between armed groups in Ituri and North Kivu]”
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Getting to a remote region like Bulape wasn't the only challenge. Unlike North Kivu, there is also a severe shortage of human resources.
“The problem we faced early on was that there weren’t enough local nurses and doctors trained to deal with the Ebola outbreak,” says Montaldo. “Of course, we have an international team, but we try to recruit locally. In the end, we were able to create a team consisting mainly of local employees.”
As infection rates continued to rise in early and mid-September, the fight against Ebola became an emotional one—for health care workers and patients—as well as a medical battle.
“There were three other patients in the tent I was in. I saw them all die one after another,” says Heritier.
Even for outbreak veterans like Montaldo, the virus's high death rate can at times make medical efforts hopeless. “Here we know that even if we treat people as best we can, they can still die,” she says.
For survivors, the trauma persists. “What else did I need to live for?” – asks Heritier. “I wanted to commit suicide, but I didn’t even have the strength to do it.”
MSF provided psychological support to patients – a lifeline for Heritier. “I talked to a psychologist a lot and he encouraged me to keep fighting. He gave me faith that I could beat Ebola. He told me, 'Just because they died doesn't mean you have to.'
While treating patients infected with the disease, MSF and its partners on the ground also quickly mobilized to vaccinate more than 35,000 people in the region.
“It's something we haven't had in the past, and it's definitely helped keep the infection rate down,” Montaldo says.
A total of 19 patients with the virus have recovered from 64 confirmed or suspected cases; 45 deaths have been reported so far.
Heritier was one of the lucky ones, but returning home was not easy. “A lot has changed in my life,” he says. “Some of my friends are too scared to come near me because they think I'll infect them. I think eventually they'll forget and everything will go back to normal.”
Now, as he prepares to return to work on his farm, Heritier remains hopeful. “People shouldn't be afraid of disease,” he says. “We must believe that doctors will help us, and not live in fear, I am proof of this.
“I was sick and couldn’t walk, and yet here I stand.”
