The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is showing signs of slowing.
“The peak has been reached since the beginning of the third week of the month of August,” Congo Minister of Communication Patrick Muyaya wrote on X. “Ten out of 61 health zones have not recorded any cases for at least 21 days. The main hotspots such as Nia Nia, Nizi, and Mongbwalu, are recording a continuous slowdown in transmission.”
However, U.N. officials stressed it’s too early to tell if the outbreak has peaked and that cases are continuing to grow in some areas, Reuters reported.
Here is the current state of the outbreak.
1. As of Sept. 13, there have been 7,258 confirmed Ebola cases and 3,510 deaths. To date, 1,726 people have recovered from the infection and 905 patients are in isolation.
2. In early September, Ebola cases spread to a seventh province, South Ubangi.
3. Contact tracing remains behind at 82%. Almost all new cases are being reported outside of known transmission chains, according to a Sept. 10 CDC report. The percentage of confirmed new cases previously identified as known contacts was 15% to 20% — the target is to be above 90%.
4. The World Health Organization said 5,000 more workers and another 1,600 treatment beds are needed to control the outbreak.
5. Healthcare workers have gone on strike multiple times to demand their pay. Some, angry about unpaid wages, are violating basic Ebola protocols and allowing grieving families to touch the bodies of relatives who died of the virus, The Wall Street Journal reported. Ebola can still spread from a deceased person.
