Key facts
- UN officials described the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo as "massive" and likely to take months to control.
- Daily new Ebola cases have fallen from about 120 to around 80.
- Ten of 62 affected health zones have had no new cases for over 22 days.
- The current outbreak is the second most lethal on record.
- Health officials are using anonymized mobile-phone data to track population movements and predict Ebola spread.
- The outbreak has caused 7,258 confirmed cases and 3,510 deaths.
United Nations officials stated on Tuesday that while efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo are yielding some positive results, the outbreak remains "massive" and is expected to take months to bring under control. Julien Harneis, the UN special Ebola coordinator, noted that while progress is being made in some areas, cases continue to grow in others.
The current outbreak is the second most lethal on record, trailing only the West Africa epidemic from 2014 to 2016. Olivier le Polain, from the World Health Organization, cautioned that it is too early to confidently declare that the epidemic has passed its peak.
Congo's Health Minister, Samuel Roger Kamba, had previously indicated "encouraging signs" since a mid-August peak, with daily new cases dropping from approximately 120 to around 80. He also reported that 10 out of 62 affected health zones had not recorded new cases for over 22 days, suggesting the response strategy is beginning to bend the transmission curve. However, he stressed the need to remain fully mobilized.
According to government figures released on Tuesday, there have been 7,258 confirmed cases and 3,510 deaths across seven provinces. Health officials are utilizing anonymized mobile-phone data, a first for an Ebola response, to track population movements and predict the virus's spread, with Flowminder producing the analysis using aggregated data from Vodacom, Congo's largest mobile operator.