Ebola outbreak in DRC surpasses 6,900 cases as infections continue to rise

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 6,900 confirmed cases, with infections continuing to rise across several provinces.

The country had recorded 6,942 confirmed cases and 3,349 related deaths as of 9 September, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). A further 823 patients were being treated in isolation.

The latest figures represented an increase of 99 confirmed cases and 39 deaths from the previous reporting period, with most new infections identified in Ituri and North Kivu provinces.

Ituri remains the centre of the outbreak, recording 5,508 cases and 2,501 deaths across 28 of its 36 health zones. North Kivu has reported 1,139 cases and 725 deaths.

Cases have also been recorded in South Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Tshopo, and Bas-Uélé. Overall, 61 of 151 health zones across the six affected provinces have reported infections.

ECDC said reported case and mortality figures remain subject to continuing review and harmonisation by authorities in the DRC.

International importation risk remains low

The outbreak has already resulted in several cases outside the DRC.

A US citizen was medically evacuated from an affected area to Germany for treatment in May, while France reported an imported case involving a humanitarian doctor in June. Another US humanitarian worker who tested positive for Bundibugyo virus in the DRC was medically evacuated to Germany in July.

Reports have also emerged of a case in South-Ubangi province involving an individual with recent travel within the DRC as well as to Rwanda and Uganda, although ECDC cited local media and political reports rather than confirmation through the country's latest national surveillance figures.

Despite the scale of the outbreak, ECDC said its modelling continued to indicate a very low risk of cases being imported into the EU and European Economic Area. Sporadic imported infections could not be ruled out, but the probability of multiple independent importations remained very low.

The agency cautioned that its modelling focuses on the general population and does not account for healthcare workers and other professionals returning from affected areas, who may face substantially greater exposure.

The continuing outbreak may therefore require particular attention to travellers working in healthcare, humanitarian, and other higher-exposure settings, as well as medical evacuation and infection-control requirements where suspected or confirmed cases involve internationally mobile patients.

Uganda outbreak declared over

Uganda, meanwhile, recorded 20 cases between May and June before the World Health Organization declared its outbreak over on 25 August, following 42 days without a newly confirmed infection.

The DRC outbreak remains active, with ECDC continuing to monitor its geographical spread and the potential for further cases beyond affected areas.