Earlier case-contact registration and a drastically reduced rate of nosocomial transmission—those are two of the main improvements the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified in a new assessment of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
As the outbreak crossed the 2,000-case milestone earlier this week, the WHO has taken stock of the outbreak response and seen some signs of progress toward ending it.
"A total of 88 confirmed cases were reported each week for the past two epidemiological weeks, down from a peak of 126 cases per week observed in April. Declines in the incidence of new cases have been most apparent in hotspots such as Katwa, Mandima and Beni health zones," the WHO said.
In April, 31% of cases were transmitted nosocomially—in healthcare settings—by the last week of May, that percentage fell to 9%.
Also encouraging are improvements in the proportion of cases among contacts registered prior to onset. The WHO said that 3 weeks ago only 30% of such cases were registered, and last week that number rose to 55%. But that proportion, they cautioned, is still too high.
Eight new cases include health worker
In its daily Ebola outbreak update today, the DRC's ministry of health confirmed eight new cases and six new fatalities, raising the outbreak total to 2,039 cases and 1,373 deaths. A total of 283 suspected cases are still under investigation.
The cases occurred in Mabalako, Mandima, Beni, Butembo, and Katwa—all known hot spots. Of the six deaths, five took place in the community, which raises the risk of further transmission.
The WHO said 34% of fatalities in the past 3 weeks have died outside of Ebola treatment centers. The agency also noted that the time between detecting, reporting, and admitting cases to Ebola treatment centers remains too long (median 6 days, interquartile range, 4 to 9 days in the past 3 weeks.)
The ministry also said one new vaccinated health worker from Mabalako was diagnosed as having Ebola. The case raises the total number of healthcare workers infected in this outbreak to 111, including 37 deaths.
As of today, 131,004 have been vaccinated with Merck's rVSV-ZEBOV as part of a ring vaccination campaign.
See also:
Jun 6 WHO Ebola report
Jun 7 DRC update
