Africa CDC says a decline in reported Ebola cases may reflect gaps in surveillance rather than falling transmission….reports Asian Lite News Desk
A decline in reported Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) may not indicate that the outbreak is under control, with disruptions to disease surveillance raising concerns that infections could be going undetected, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned.
Africa CDC official Wessam Mankoula said the outbreak had expanded from three health zones in mid-May to 63 health zones across seven provinces, with active transmission continuing in 45 health zones.
Speaking at an online press briefing, Mankoula said the epidemic curve had largely plateaued over the past four to five weeks and reported cases had fallen during the latest week. However, he cautioned against interpreting the decline as evidence of sustained progress.
“Falling in this curve doesn’t mean that the outbreak is totally under control,” Mankoula said.
Insecurity and resistance within some communities have disrupted surveillance and response operations, making it difficult for health authorities to identify all infections and contacts.
The warning comes amid security concerns in parts of eastern DRC. In Butembo, North Kivu Province, a local ruling-party official was beaten to death following a radio appearance on Sunday. His party linked the attack to his public support for Ebola prevention efforts.
In neighbouring Beni territory, an armed attack on a checkpoint that is also used by Ebola response teams left at least one person dead and several others injured on Saturday, according to local reports.
Meanwhile, concerns over infections among healthcare workers have grown in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province, after a doctor died from Ebola on September 24.
Provincial Health Minister Simon Bokongo said on Tuesday that the hospital where the doctor worked had been temporarily closed for 21 days after more than 10 staff members tested positive. More than 123 contacts had been identified, he said.
The outbreak has also shown different trends across affected provinces. In Ituri Province, the longtime epicentre, reported cases fell by about 32 per cent over the latest three-week period compared with the previous three weeks. North Kivu, however, continued to record an increase in cases.
Contact tracing remains a major challenge. Mankoula said health authorities were identifying an average of about 14 contacts for each confirmed case, significantly below the expected level of around 60.
Only about 23 per cent of estimated contacts were being followed up, while nearly 80 per cent of new cases were being detected outside known contact lists, according to the official.
“This is also one of the reasons… we cannot confidently say the outbreak is under control at this stage,” Mankoula said.
As of September 29, the DRC had recorded 8,224 confirmed Ebola cases, including 3,982 deaths, according to the latest situation report from the country’s health authorities. The overall case fatality rate stood at 48.4 per cent.
Mankoula stressed that strengthening community trust would be essential to containing the outbreak.
“This outbreak cannot be controlled without building community trust,” he said, calling for secure access to affected communities and stronger engagement with local populations to strengthen surveillance and response efforts.
The Africa CDC’s warning comes as health authorities continue efforts to contain transmission across the affected provinces and improve contact tracing and access to communities where insecurity has complicated the response.
