DR Congo Ebola outbreak remains "very active," peak not yet in sight: health minister
Citing high population density, frequent population movement, and local factors that complicate community engagement, Kamba said: "We cannot yet determine.
Health teams in personal protective equipment respond to the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo. (Photo: WHO/Joël Lumbala)
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains in a "very active" phase, and it is still too early to determine when infections will reach their peak, Health Minister Roger Kamba said Thursday.
Kamba made the comments in a video provided Thursday by the health ministry during his visit to Bunia, capital of the eastern Ituri Province, epicentre of the outbreak.
"We are still in an active, even very active, phase of the disease," Kamba said while reviewing the national response after nearly two months of operations.
More To Read
Citing high population density, frequent population movement, and local factors that complicate community engagement, Kamba said: "We cannot yet determine today the point at which the outbreak will reach its peak."
This is even as experts from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday urged sustained international solidarity, as the death toll of the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has surpassed 600 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda.
The two affected countries have recorded a cumulative 1,779 confirmed cases and 602 deaths, with a case fatality rate of about 34 per cent, while some 302 patients have recovered from the disease so far, according to the latest data from the African Union's continental public health agency.
During an online press briefing, Wessam Mankoula, operations manager for the Ebola response at Africa CDC, noted that the DRC recorded some 353 confirmed cases during the past week, which marked a 25 per cent increase in the country's caseload.
"We continue facing the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever on the continent," Mankoula said. "The outbreak is still growing and evolving. Unfortunately, the virus is still ahead of our response."