The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded 7,022 Ebola cases and 3,398 deaths in its worst outbreak of the disease, although the government says the spread may have peaked.
The outbreak, the country’s 17th, was detected in mid-May in the northeastern province of Ituri before spreading to remote and conflict-affected areas where healthcare infrastructure remains limited.
Ebola has now been confirmed in seven provinces, with South-Ubangi – which borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville – becoming the latest area to report cases earlier this week.
Despite the continued spread, government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said there were signs that the outbreak could be slowing.
“The peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August,” Muyaya wrote on X on Saturday.
“All the indicators show a decrease in the number of cases,” he added, saying 10 of the 61 health zones affected by the outbreak had not recorded a new case for at least 21 days.
Of the 7,022 cases recorded so far, 1,671 people have recovered, according to the latest figures from Congolese authorities.
Most cases have been reported in Ituri, where the detection of Ebola in schools after pupils returned from the summer holiday has raised concern among parents and health workers.
“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 mother in the provincial capital Bunia, told AFP.
“We are so scared, even though the school authorities reassure us about the health measures that have been put in place,” she said.
Schools have introduced additional measures to reduce the risk of transmission. Bunia school official Roger Mungimbo said “there is a mandatory hand-washing system with soap”, while class sizes had been limited 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 added.
Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, although several vaccines and treatments are being tested.