Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

No new cases of the current outbreak of Ebola Virus (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since February 17, 2020 have been reported (Figure 1). Although this is a positive development, there is still a continuing risk of EVD recurrence given the current challenges posed by scarce resources due to other local and global emergencies, continued insecurity and displacement of populations in previous hotspots and limited access to some affected communities. It is therefore extremely important to maintain surveillance and response operations during the period leading up to the declaration of the end of the epidemic as well as after the declaration – as stated in The WHO recommended criteria for declaring the end of the EVD epidemic.

Efforts are continuing to respond to epidemics, including the investigation and confirmation of new alert cases, supporting appropriate care and rapid diagnosis of suspected cases (still being discovered), survivor support through a multidisciplinary program and strategically active activities. From 1 to 7 April, an average of 2208 warnings were reported and investigated, which is more than a 50% reduction in the number of alerts reported in the affected health zones in the previous two weeks. Of these warnings, 175 were confirmed as suspicious cases, which required specialized care and laboratory testing to rule out EVD. From March 30 to April 5, 1347 samples were tested, including: 645 blood samples from live, suspected cases; 318 community death swabs; and 384 samples of retested patients. Overall, laboratory activity decreased by 43% over the previous week.

As of April 7, 2020, a total of 3453 EVD cases were reported from 29 health zones (Table 1), including 3310 confirmed and 143 probable cases, of which 2273 cases (66% overall mortality rate). Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 57% (n= 1935) were women, 29% (n= 979) were children under the age of 18 and 5% (n= 171) were healthcare professionals.

An emergency injection of US $ 20 million is required to ensure that response teams are able to maintain an adequate level of operations until early May 2020. For more information see this statement.

Figure 1: Confirmed and probable cases of Ebola disease by weeks of onset of disease by health field. Data from 7 April 2020 *

* Excludes n= 149 cases for which start dates have not been reported. Data in recent weeks is subject to delays in confirmation and reporting, as well as ongoing data cleanup. “Other Health Zones” means Health Zones other than Kalungut, Mandima, Mabalako, Beni, Katwa and Butembo Health Zones affected by EVD.

Table 1: Confirmed and probable cases of Ebola disease and number of health areas affected by the health zone, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, data as of 7 April 2020 **

** Total cases and areas affected during the last 21 days are based on the initial date of case taking and may differ from the date of confirmation and daily reporting by the Ministry of Health.

Public health response

For further information on the public health response activities of the Ministry of Health, WHO and partners, see the latest status reports published by the WHO Regional Office for Africa:

WHO risk assessment

WHO continually monitors changes in the epidemiological situation and outbreak context to ensure that response support is adapted to evolving circumstances. The latest assessment concluded that national and regional risk levels remain high, while global risk levels remain low.

Tip of WHO

WHO advises against any restrictions on travel to and trade with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based on currently available information. All applications for Ebola vaccination certificates are not a reasonable basis for restricting movement across borders or issuing visas to travelers to / from the affected countries. WHO continues to closely monitor and, if necessary, review travel and trade measures regarding this event. At present, no country has implemented travel measures that significantly impede international traffic to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Travelers should seek medical attention before traveling and should be based on good hygiene. More information is available at WHO recommendations for international traffic related to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For more information, see: