KINSHASA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is showing an encouraging downward trend in reported cases, but it is still too early to conclude that the epidemic has reached its peak, a senior public health official said Thursday.
Christian Ngandu, a senior official at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), said absolute case numbers have declined compared with earlier stages of the outbreak.
"We do not think the outbreak will continue along the same trajectory, because when we look at the epidemiological data, the trend is downward in absolute numbers compared with earlier periods," Ngandu told a press conference in Kinshasa. "I did not say that we have reached the peak. I said there is a downward trend."
Ngandu said the trend must be assessed over time and against the evolution of confirmed cases as well as the dates when patients first develop symptoms.
"We need to maintain this trend for it to produce results," he said, warning that any relaxation of response efforts could lead to another surge in infections.
According to the latest official figures, the DRC had recorded 6,843 confirmed Ebola cases as of Sept. 8, including 3,310 deaths and 1,611 recoveries, with the case fatality rate standing at 48.4 percent.
The government is implementing an updated 180-day response plan aimed at sustaining the current trend and bringing the outbreak under control, with greater emphasis on community-level surveillance, contact tracing, prevention and preparedness in areas at risk.
"We believe that, with the messages we have shared and the support of all stakeholders, the population will further take ownership of the fight against this disease, which can be brought under control and will be brought under control within the 180 days set out in the plan," Ngandu 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. ■
