The worst Ebola outbreak to hit the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has killed more than 3,400 people, is still spreading in a key province despite an improvement in other regions, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The huge African nation’s government indicated at the weekend that the outbreak may have peaked in August, but the WHO said that while the national figures were better, there were still Ebola hotspots to battle.
Olivier le Polain, head of the WHO’s epidemiology and analytics response unit, said that as of September 12, authorities had recorded 7,200 cases in seven provinces with 3,475 deaths.
“We are seeing some progress, particularly in Ituri province and its capital Bunia, some areas are under control,” le Polain told a Geneva press conference.
“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 per week had doubled in the past two weeks in North Kivu.
The province accounts for about 45 percent of the new cases recorded last week.
The WHO expert said it remained a “vast” outbreak.
He said there were signs of a slower transmission in some parts of Ituri province, where the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was first recorded in May.
Le Polain added that no new case had been registered in South Kivu province since the end of May.
But a case in South Ubangi province meant Ebola was now in seven provinces.
He also said that 30-40 new cases were being reported each week in Upper Uele province.
The expert said that the indicators were not yet showing the improvement that the WHO and other agencies fighting the outbreak wanted to see.
AFP
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