KINSHASA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday it remains too early to say that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is under control, despite signs of stabilization in recent weeks.
"We're still early to say that we're controlling the whole outbreak," Africa CDC official Wessam Mankoula told an online press briefing, noting that the outbreak "is still evolving."
According to the latest government situation report published Thursday, the DRC had recorded 6,250 confirmed cases and 3,039 deaths as of Sept. 1, with a case fatality rate of 48.6 percent. A total of 1,439 patients have recovered. The outbreak has affected 60 health zones across six provinces.
Four health zones have interrupted transmission after reporting no new cases for more than 42 days, while another five are in "control phase", which have gone between 21 and 42 days without a new case. Transmission, however, remains active in 51 health zones, Mankoula said.
"For the last two weeks, we are seeing a decline in the number of cases; we are almost at the plateau phase," Mankoula said, cautioning that "it's very early to say we have sustained decline in this outbreak."
Mankoula said the plateau could reflect stronger surveillance, earlier case detection, active case finding, infection prevention and control measures, and improved case management. "Hopefully, when we're following now the third week, we continue with this plateau, then we start seeing a decrease," he said.
But he cautioned against drawing conclusions too soon. "We saw this plateau previously in June, then later on it's followed by an increase. This is why we are cautiously interpreting those data," Mankoula said.
The current outbreak, declared in May, has since become the country's largest and deadliest Ebola epidemic on record and the second-largest globally, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa.
Mankoula also noted that while Uganda recently declared its own Ebola outbreak over, the continued active transmission in DRC's eastern provinces bordering Uganda poses a persistent cross-border risk.
He stressed that strong surveillance systems must remain in place at points of entry and along border communities to detect any potential spillover cases early and prevent a new wave of cross-border transmission.
"This outbreak is still evolving," Mankoula said. "Incremental measures are no longer effective. This is the time for scaling up all different responses to control the situation on the ground."
Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said Wednesday that Ebola in the DRC "remains extremely serious and continues to spread." "Despite the considerable efforts of the (DRC) government and partners, we are not yet where we need to be," said Kaseya.
With no approved vaccine or treatment specifically targeting Bundibugyo virus, the cause of the current outbreak, the international community is turning to experimental and repurposed medical tools.
As for vaccines, the Ervebo vaccine, the licensed shot against the Zaire ebolavirus, is currently being evaluated for cross-protection against the current Bundibugyo strain through an effectiveness study in the field.
Meanwhile, under protocol-governed compassionate use, which allows the use of unapproved or partially studied vaccines in an outbreak setting, vaccinations for frontline healthcare workers and at-risk populations began on Aug. 27.
As of Sept. 1, a total of 1,124 healthcare workers and frontline workers had been vaccinated, said Mankoula.
"So we think that very soon we'll be able to provide more detail and a precise answer regarding the level of cross-protection using the Ervebo vaccine," said Placide Mbala Kingebeni, Africa CDC's director for research, clinical trials and innovation at the briefing, noting that Ervebo's efficacy against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus has not been demonstrated yet. ■
