Ebola outbreak in DRC has peaked, say authorities, as infection rates slow — SkimNews
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- DRC Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba declared the outbreak under control, announcing daily new cases have dropped from about 120 to 80, with 10 of 62 health zones going 22+ days without new infections and six zones removed after 42+ days case-free.
- The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo variant, declared on 15 May and concentrated primarily in Ituri province, where ongoing conflict has complicated response efforts — and last week Sud-Ubangi became the sixth province to report cases.
- As of 14 September, the Congolese health ministry reported more than 7,200 confirmed cases and 3,475 deaths, with no effective treatment yet found for the Bundibugyo variant specifically.
- African CDC director Jean Kaseya warned that 60-70% of deaths are still occurring in the community rather than in treatment settings, saying contact tracing remains too weak to confirm a true peak — epidemiologists define peak only when all new cases come from known contact lists.
- MP Gratien Iracan cautioned against "triumphalism" and pressed the government to publish objective indicators — sustained case declines over 7-21 days, reduced deaths, and high contact-tracing rates — that he said were omitted from the official announcement.
- The DRC received more than 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine last month, but the vaccine is approved only for the Zaire strain of Ebola, not the Bundibugyo variant driving this outbreak.
Why it matters: DRC authorities are claiming their 17th Ebola outbreak is under control with daily cases cut by a third, but the source reveals a critical gap: 60-70% of deaths are still occurring in the community rather than hospitals, contact tracing is too weak to confirm a true epidemiological peak, and the outbreak just spread to a sixth province. If the declaration proves premature and cases rebound, public trust in health messaging — already fragile — could collapse.
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