Africa CDC Warns Congo Ebola Crisis Remains Serious

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains serious and cannot yet be considered under control, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although data from the past two weeks show a slight decline in cases, Africa CDC cautioned that the available figures remain incomplete. Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba had previously pointed to “encouraging signs” following what he described as a peak in mid-August, saying transmission had been “gradually slowing down”.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya, however, said it was too early to conclude that the outbreak had peaked. The agency’s Emergency Consultative Group said the data “could not confirm that the peak of the outbreak has been reached” and that transmission was “not yet consistently controlled across all affected areas”.

Kaseya nevertheless pointed to a slight decline in infections in the eastern province of Ituri as a positive development. At the same time, Africa CDC said gaps in infection prevention and control persisted.

The agency wants to see a sustained decline in cases before concluding that the outbreak has passed its peak. “We saw a decrease in some areas, but we say the situation is still serious”, Kaseya said.

(Reuters, mja)