DR Congo Records Over 7,200 Ebola Cases Despite Overall Declining Trend

KINSHASA: More than 7,200 confirmed Ebola cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), with transmission continuing in several provinces despite an overall decline in the outbreak, according to government data released on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The government’s epidemiological situation report as of Sunday said 7,258 confirmed cases had been recorded across seven provinces, including 3,510 deaths and 1,726 recoveries. A total of 905 patients were in isolation or receiving hospital treatment, while the overall case fatality rate stood at 48.4 per cent.

The outbreak has affected 62 health zones across seven provinces – Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and Sud-Ubangi. Transmission remains ongoing in Ituri, North Kivu and Haut-Uele, while sporadic cases have been reported in Tshopo and Bas-Uele.

Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi, head of the National Public Health Institute, said the overall epidemic curve showed a downward trend, with the outbreak appearing to have peaked around mid-August. He made the remarks following a strategic coordination meeting in Kinshasa on Monday.

However, he cautioned that the decline was uneven across the country, with several provinces, particularly North Kivu, still reporting an increase in cases.

The current outbreak, declared in May, has become the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in DR Congo’s history and the second-largest Ebola epidemic in the world after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.

BERNAMA – XINHUA