WHO warns Ebola outbreak in DRC is ‘far from over’ as North Kivu cases rise
Weekly cases in North Kivu have risen from about 100 to more than 200, despite declining transmission in Ituri and no new cases in South Kivu since May.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains “far from over”, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned, as reported weekly cases in North Kivu more than doubled over the past two weeks.
Tedros said the outbreak involved “many outbreaks in many places” and was difficult to describe as a single epidemic because of the area’s size. He warned that the epidemic continued to grow and kill.
Transmission is declining in Ituri province, described as the outbreak’s epicentre, while South Kivu has reported no new cases since May. More than 7,200 cases and 3,500 deaths have been reported across seven provinces since the DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in May, according to the WHO.
The response has been complicated by the emergence of the rare Bundibugyo strain, identified in the report as driving the current outbreak. The WHO said treatment trials and development of post-exposure prophylaxis were accelerating.
More than 3,000 healthcare and frontline workers have been vaccinated with Merck’s Ervebo, WHO health science director Meg Doherty said. The vaccine is licensed against Zaire ebolavirus, but its effectiveness against Bundibugyo is not known.
