United Nations officials have reported signs of improvement in efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, but warned that transmission remains widespread and it is too early to conclude that the epidemic has peaked.
Julien Harneis, the UN special Ebola coordinator, said some areas were recording progress, while infections continued to rise in others.
“The outbreak remains deadly and widespread. Although progress has been made in some areas, we are still seeing cases increase in others,” Harneis told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
The outbreak is currently the second-deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, after the West African outbreak that lasted from 2014 to 2016.
Olivier Le Polain, head of epidemiology and analytics for response at the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, also cautioned against concluding that the outbreak had passed its peak.
“It is still too soon to say with certainty that the outbreak has reached its peak,” Le Polain said, adding that bringing the epidemic fully under control would take several more months and require substantial support.
Congo’s Health Minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, had earlier reported encouraging developments, saying transmission had gradually slowed since the outbreak’s peak in mid-August.
Kamba said daily new infections had fallen from about 120 at the height of the outbreak to approximately 80. He added that 10 of the 62 affected health zones had recorded no new cases for more than 22 days.
He described the figures as a positive indication that response measures were beginning to reduce transmission, while urging authorities and health workers to remain fully mobilised.
Government figures released on Tuesday put the total number of confirmed Ebola cases at 7,258, with 3,510 deaths recorded across seven provinces.
UN officials said progress was becoming evident in parts of Ituri, the province with the highest number of cases, with some areas now considered to have the outbreak under control.
However, the situation remains concerning in North Kivu, where infections are still rising rapidly, particularly in the city of Butembo.
Harneis said the scale and geographical spread of the outbreak made it difficult to describe the situation as a single epidemic because different locations were experiencing varying patterns of transmission.
Le Polain warned that previous Ebola outbreaks had shown that early improvements could be followed by a rapid resurgence in cases, making continued surveillance and response efforts essential.
Aid workers have called for stronger efforts to curb transmission in North Kivu, where insecurity, population density and high mobility are making containment more difficult.
Thomas Paerisch, a public health specialist recently deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo with Médecins Sans Frontières, described the situation in North Kivu as alarming.
As of September 12, North Kivu had recorded 1,269 confirmed cases, including 555 reported during the previous 21 days, underscoring the continuing challenge of containing the outbreak despite signs of progress elsewhere.
Goodness Anunobi
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