Ebola outbreak in DR Congo intensifies

KINSHASA — The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has deteriorated further, with confirmed deaths rising above 520 and transmission continuing in eastern hot spots, according to a report released on Tuesday by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa.

As of Sunday, the DR Congo had reported 1,624 confirmed cases, including 521 confirmed deaths, with the crude fatality rate rising to 32.1 percent, the report said.

Across the three affected countries, the DR Congo, Uganda and France, a total of 1,645 confirmed cases and 523 confirmed deaths had been reported, with an overall confirmed fatality rate of 31.8 percent. More than 12,400 contacts still required follow-up, according to the report.

The report said the outbreak in the DR Congo "continues to intensify", driven by sustained transmission in hot spot health zones of Ituri and North Kivu provinces, in eastern DR Congo, growing numbers of community deaths, and the spread of infection into previously unaffected health zones.

The report warned that deaths occurring before patients reach care remain one of the clearest signs that surveillance and referral systems are still lagging behind transmission. Among 430 confirmed deaths investigated as of Sunday, 397, or 92.3 percent, occurred in the community or before admission to a treatment facility.

Contact tracing has improved but remains below the level needed to interrupt transmission quickly enough. As of Sunday, 12,412 contacts were under follow-up in the DR Congo, of whom 9,624, or 77.5 percent, had been seen within the previous 24 hours.

Overall, only 32.4 percent of confirmed cases had been detected through contact follow-up, indicating that many infections were still occurring outside known contact lists.

Medical pressure

Treatment capacity is also under pressure. The DR Congo has about 700 treatment and isolation beds across more than 22 Ebola treatment centers and care facilities. As of Sunday, 646 patients were in isolation nationwide, and official isolation occupancy stood at about 94.2 percent.

The report said the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS clinical trial was officially launched in the DR Congo on July 2, becoming the first clinical trial specifically evaluating therapeutics for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

The trial is assessing the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and remdesivir, individually and in combination.

The report assessed the public health risk in the DR Congo as "very high", saying sustained and widespread transmission continued to outpace the current response capacity.

It also warned that Uganda still faced a high risk of importation due to population movement from eastern DR Congo, while the imported case in France highlighted the need for sustained surveillance, traveler awareness and cross-border preparedness.

XINHUA