Ebola outbreak in Congo is still serious, African health body says

DAKAR, Sept 17 (Reuters) – The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is still serious, with data indicating gaps in infection prevention and control, Africa’s top public health agency said on Thursday.

• On Saturday, Congo Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said there were “encouraging signs” in the fight against Ebola since “the peak reached in mid-August”, ​and that transmission “has been gradually slowing down”.

• While data from Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention showed a slight decrease in cases in the two previous weeks, Director-General Jean Kaseya said the outbreak was not yet under control.

• “The data could not confirm that the peak of the outbreak has been reached, and the transmission is not yet consistently controlled across all affected areas,” Africa CDC’s Emergency Consultative Group said.

• However, Kaseya praised a slight drop in infections in the eastern Ituri province.

• He said comments from Congo’s health officials were based on incomplete data and that they would need to see a sustained decline in cases before saying the peak had passed.

• “We are still committed to support the government, and I want to congratulate for the progress made so far. We saw a decrease in some areas, but we say the situation is still serious,” Kaseya told reporters.

(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Aurora Ellis)