More than 7,000 Ebola cases have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) worst outbreak of the deadly disease ever, according to the latest figures by Congolese authorities.
But the government also suggested that the spread of the disease may already have peaked, despite the virus having been confirmed in a seventh province earlier this week.
The DRC officially detected the latest outbreak in mid-May, with nearly 3,400 people killed in its 17th epidemic of the highly infectious virus.
It began in the northeastern Ituri province before spreading to conflict-plagued, remote eastern and northern regions where armed groups have roamed for decades, the presence of the state is weak and health infrastructure is lacking.
The disease was confirmed in South-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville, earlier this week.
According to the latest figures from the Congolese authorities, 7,022 cases have been recorded since the beginning of the epidemic. Of that number, 3,398 people have died and 1,671 have recovered.
“The peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August,” Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya wrote on X on Sept. 12.
“All the indicators show a decrease in the number of cases,” he added.
Most of the recorded cases are in Ituri, where Ebola has been detected in schools in the days after the post-summer holiday return to classes, causing alarm among parents and health workers.
Ebola, which has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the last 50 years, is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe internal and external bleeding and organ failure.
The current epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. Several treatments and vaccines are being tested.
