The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically Bundibugyo virus disease, has already caused 91 deaths in the country. Latest data from World Health OrganizationReleased on June 6, shows there have been 515 confirmed cases in the country and 19 in neighboring Uganda, with at least two deaths.
Isabelle Brosius, an infectious disease specialist at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, is in DR Congo. He told DW that the outbreak is ravaging a country that is grappling with conflict in its east and many other significant public health threats.
“Ebola can be a very scary disease. So certainly when it happens in a population that is not always super health literate, it’s a very scary thing. People start to wonder why this is happening or what’s causing it. And then if you have a deep distrust of the government or other actors and fake news or messages, that adds to the general sense of insecurity.”
Has Ebola affected the World Cup yet?
DR Congo qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years in April, but their preparations for the opener against Portugal on June 17 have been hampered by the Ebola outbreak.
The World Cup-hosting United States, where DR Congo is located, requires all non-US citizens who have been to DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan to spend 21 days outside those countries and be symptom-free before being allowed to enter the US.
Despite the outbreak currently being limited to Ituri province in the country’s north-east, the squad’s training camp, which was scheduled for the capital Kinshasa several thousands of kilometers to the west, was moved to Belgium, where the squad trained in a COVID-19-style “bubble”. All DR Congo teams play their club football outside the country and reports suggest that no players have visited recently.
The pre-tournament friendly against Chile, originally scheduled to take place in Spain, will now be played behind closed doors in the French city of Orleans on Tuesday after Spanish local authorities halted the opening match on public health grounds. With many teams already in North America, DR Congo’s arrival in Houston will give them relatively little time to acclimatize.
“I can only say that we are used to adapting, and no matter what happens, we will have no problems adapting to all these situations,” said DR Congo coach Sébastien Desbrey.
Is there a risk of Ebola spreading at the World Cup?
According to Brosius, almost none. She emphasizes that Ebola “is not transmitted via airborne droplets and requires close contact with a sick or dead person or their contaminated environment” meaning it is highly unlikely to spread internationally or through travel.
“As we saw with the largest Ebola outbreak to date in 2014-2016, the ability to establish local transmission to other countries through international transmission and air travel and so on is really quite limited.
“The risk of exposure to supporters or players going to watch matches in any of the three host countries is, I believe, close to zero.”
What is the World Cup hosts’ position on Ebola?
Co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico recently issued a joint statement On this topic. It emphasizes “aligned public health travel measures for individuals arriving from African areas most at risk from the Ebola virus,” without going into too many specifics.
While the US has insisted on a 21-day rule, Canada has temporarily banned residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan from entering the country for 90 days and Mexico has introduced strict Ebola screening measures at airports and mandated a 21-day quarantine.
What is the situation for DR Congo’s World Cup fans?
Tournament organizers FIFA have said they are monitoring the spread of the disease but quarantine restrictions mean very few fans will be able to travel, even if they can buy tickets.
As a result, Veron Mosengo-Omba, president of the Football Federation of DR Congo (FECOFA), has asked FIFA to refund the money to the affected fans.
“We asked FIFA if it was possible to consider it, because the tickets are a bit expensive,” he told the BBC. “They are punished because they can’t get [into the United States] To watch the World Cup to support your team.
“We don’t want our supporters who love football, who love the World Cup, to lose everything.”
According to the BBC, FIFA have said they will look into the matter “in due course”.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold