Controlling Ebola within months

UN officials said today that efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are beginning to bear fruit, but they stressed that the epidemic remains “widespread” and that full control will take several months.

Julien Harneis, the UN Special Coordinator for Ebola, said at a news conference in Geneva, as reported by Reuters today, “The epidemic is still deadly and widespread. While we are seeing progress in some areas, other areas are still recording an increase in cases.”

This outbreak is the second deadliest ever, after the West Africa epidemic between 2014 and 2016.

When asked about reports suggesting the epidemic may have reached a turning point, Olivier Le Polain de Waroux of the World Health Organization said, “It is too early to say that we have passed the peak.”

UN officials said today that they had observed progress in parts of Ituri Province, which remains the hardest-hit area, and that the epidemic was “under control” in some regions.

However, they warned that the number of infections was still rising rapidly in North Kivu Province, particularly in the city of Butembo.

Le Polain de Waroux, head of the Epidemiology and Analytics Unit for Response in the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said, “We know from previous experience that an epidemic may show early signs of improvement before rebounding with great speed.”