Kinshasa, September 15 (Daily Kiran) : The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reported more than 7,200 confirmed cases of Ebola, according to government statistics released on Tuesday. Despite an overall decline in new cases, the virus continues to spread in several provinces.
As of Sunday, the official report indicated that 7,258 confirmed cases had been recorded across seven provinces, resulting in 3,510 deaths and 1,726 recoveries. The Xinhua News Agency noted that 905 patients were either in isolation or hospitalized, with a mortality rate of 48.4 percent.
Following a strategic coordination meeting in Kinshasa on Monday, Dr. Dieudonné Mwamba Kazadi, head of the National Institute of Public Health, stated that the epidemic’s curve is trending downward. He noted that the peak of the outbreak occurred in mid-August. However, he warned that this decline is not uniform across the country, with some provinces, particularly North Kivu, still experiencing an increase in cases.
The government announced on Friday that the Ebola outbreak is now “under control,” having passed its most critical phase. Nevertheless, the emergence of new local infections, the continued spread of the disease, and its expansion to a seventh province remain concerning issues.
Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya, during a cabinet meeting report, confirmed that the 17th Ebola outbreak is now under control, with its peak reached in the third week of August 2026, as cited by Health Minister Roger Kamba.
According to the government, most key indicators suggest a downward trend in cases. In the ten health areas previously affected by the outbreak, no new cases have been reported for at least 21 days. Additionally, the rate of infection has slowed in many areas of Ituri, which has been at the epicenter of the outbreak.
This outbreak has impacted 62 health zones across seven provinces, including Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, Tshopo, and Sud-Ubangi. While the spread continues in Ituri, North Kivu, and Haut-Uele, sporadic cases have been reported in Tshopo and Bas-Uele.
Declared in May, this outbreak has become the largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it ranks as the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, surpassed only by the epidemic that occurred in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.
Leave a Comment