UN says Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo shows progress but remains massive

Geneva, Switzerland. UN officials said on Tuesday that efforts to curb Ebola in eastern Congo were beginning to show results, but warned that the epidemic remained massive and would take months to bring under control.

UN assessment

“It remains a deadly and a massive epidemic,” Julien Harneis, the UN special Ebola coordinator, told a Geneva press briefing. “There are some areas of progress, but nonetheless, in other areas, we continue to see growth in cases.”

The outbreak is the second most lethal on record, after the West African epidemic that lasted from 2014 to 2016.

Control efforts

Asked about reports that the epidemic had reached a turning point, World Health Organization official Olivier le Polain said it was too early to confidently state that the outbreak had passed its peak.

“It will take many, many months to get this outbreak under control fully, and it will require significant support,” he said.

Health minister cites encouraging signs

On Saturday, Congo Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said there had been “encouraging signs” since a peak reached in mid-August and that transmission had been gradually slowing.

He said daily new cases had fallen from about 120 at the peak of the epidemic to around 80, while 10 of the 62 affected health zones had reported no new cases for more than 22 days.

Kamba said the figures showed that response efforts on the ground were yielding results and beginning to bend the transmission curve, but urged continued mobilisation.