Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to show a decrease in the number of new cases in hotspots such as Katwa, Beni and Kalunguta health zones. However, in other areas such as Mabalako and Butembo, moderate rates of transmission continue. With ongoing EVD transmission within communities in 12 health zones in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, factors such as persistent delays in case detection, approximately a third of cases dying outside of Ebola treatment or transit centres, and high population mobility, pose a high risk of geographical spread both within the DRC and to neighbouring countries. This was highlighted by the recent exportation of cases to Uganda – the first confirmed cases detected outside of North Kivu and Ituri province since the onset of the outbreak over 10 months ago. For more information, please see Disease Outbreak News on EVD in Uganda

Weekly decrease in the incidence of new cases have been reported in several health zones; however, increase or a continuation of the outbreak has been observed in others (Figure 1). In the 21 days, between 22 May to 11 June 2019, 62 health areas within 12 health zones reported new cases, representing 9% of the 664 health areas within North Kivu and Ituri provinces (Figure 2). During this period, a total of 212 confirmed cases were reported, the majority of which were from the health zones of Mabalako (33%, n=69), Butembo (18%, n=39), Katwa (14%, n=30) Mandima (11%, n=23) and Beni (9%, n=20). Single confirmed cases were also reported from Rwampara and Komanda health zones this past week following a prolonged period since the last reported case, with both cases acquiring the infection in the aforementioned hotspots.

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