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The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has killed more than 3,400 people, is still spreading in parts of the country despite signs of improvement elsewhere, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.
WHO epidemiology and analytics response unit chief, Olivier le Polain, said 7,200 cases and 3,475 deaths had been recorded across seven provinces as of September 12.
He said the national figures were improving, but several Ebola hotspots remained a concern, particularly in North Kivu.
“We are seeing some progress, particularly in Ituri province and its capital Bunia, some areas are under control,” le Polain told a press conference in Geneva.
“However, there are other areas like in Butembo in North Kivu where we’re seeing the numbers come up.”
Le Polain said the number of new cases and deaths recorded weekly in North Kivu had doubled over the past two weeks, with the province accounting for about 45 per cent of new cases reported last week.
He described the outbreak as still “vast”, although transmission had slowed in some parts of Ituri province, where the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was first detected in May.
No new cases have been recorded in South Kivu since the end of May, he said.
However, the detection of a case in South Ubangi province means Ebola has now spread to seven provinces.
Le Polain also said Upper Uele province was reporting between 30 and 40 new cases each week, adding that the indicators had yet to show the level of improvement expected by the WHO and other agencies responding to the outbreak.
