The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 7,000 cases in its deadliest Ebola outbreak, even as authorities say the spread of the virus may have peaked.
According to figures released by Congolese authorities on Saturday, 7,022 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began, with 3,398 deaths and 1,671 recoveries.
The outbreak, officially detected in mid-May, is the DRC’s 17th Ebola epidemic and its worst on record in terms of reported cases.
The government said there were indications that transmission could be slowing despite the virus spreading to a seventh province earlier in the week.
Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said on Saturday that the peak of the outbreak was reached in the third week of August.
“The peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August,” Muyaya wrote on X, adding that “all the indicators show a decrease in the number of cases.”
He said 10 of the 61 health zones affected by the outbreak had recorded no new cases for at least 21 days.
The outbreak was first detected in Ituri Province in the northeast before spreading to other parts of eastern and northern DRC, including areas affected by longstanding armed conflict and limited healthcare infrastructure.
The virus was confirmed earlier this week in South-Ubangi Province, which borders the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.
Ituri remains the most affected area, with health officials facing additional concerns following the detection of Ebola cases in schools after students returned from the summer break.
Parents and school officials have expressed concern over the potential for transmission among pupils and their families.
“We are very worried because we don’t know which child comes from which family or what the health status of the members of that family is,” Angele Magani, a parent in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri, told AFP.
She said families remained concerned despite assurances from school authorities about preventive measures.
Roger Mungimbo, a school official in Bunia, said schools had introduced measures including mandatory handwashing with soap and limiting class sizes to a maximum of 30 pupils.
“We regularly make the children aware that they must not touch each other” and wash their hands regularly, he said.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of infected people and can cause severe illness, including internal and external bleeding and organ failure.
The World Health Organisation has recorded more than 15,000 Ebola deaths in Africa over the past five decades.
The current outbreak is attributed to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. Several vaccines and treatments are, however, being tested.
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