Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of Congo

From 13 to 19 May 2020, no new case of Ebola virus (EVD) disease was reported from the province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Figure 1). Since the resurgence of the epidemic on April 10, 2020, seven confirmed cases have been reported from the Kasanga, Malepa and Kanzulinzuli health areas in the Beni health zone. Of these, two cases cared for in the ETC have recovered and been discharged, and one remains in the community (status unknown). Four other people confirmed that Ebola had died, including two deaths in the community and two deaths at the ETC in Beni. As of April 27, no new cases have been reported. The last person confirmed that Ebola was recovering and released from the treatment center on May 14, 2020. On the same day, the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced the launch of a countdown lasting 42 days until the end of the outbreak. On May 18, all 90 contacts that remained under surveillance completed a 21-day follow-up.

As of April 10, 2020, 1,486 people have been vaccinated in Ben and Carisimbi. To date, no definitive source of infection has been identified.

From 13 to 19 May 2020, an average of 2,832 alerts were reported daily, of which 2,827 (over 99%) were investigated within 24 hours. Of these, an average of 385 warnings were confirmed as suspicious cases each day, and specialized care and laboratory testing are required to exclude EVD. In the last three weeks, the warning rate has improved in the affected health zones. Timely testing of suspicious cases is still provided in eight laboratories. From 11 to 17 May 2020, 2869 samples were tested, including 2081 blood samples from live, suspicious cases; 382 community death swabs; and 406 samples of retested patients. Overall, laboratory activities increased by 15% compared to the previous week.

As of May 19, 2020, a total of 3,462 EVD cases have been reported, including 3,317 confirmed and 145 probable cases. Of these, 2279 people died (total mortality rate 66%) and 1171 survived. Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 57% (n = 1970) were women, 29%n = 1002) were children under 18 years and 5%n = 171) were health workers. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 250,292 contacts have been registered, and since August 2018, 303,867 people (front workers; contacts and contact contacts of confirmed cases) have been vaccinated against EVD with the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP vaccine.

Efforts to find the missing confirmed case and investigate the origin of the recent cluster in Beni Health Zone are still ongoing. Given the long and large area of ​​the Ebola epidemic in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the endemicity of the Ebola virus in animal accumulations in the region, there is a risk of re-emergence of the virus leading to the end of the epidemic. In the coming weeks and months, it is crucial to maintain a strong and robust surveillance system in order to detect, isolate, test and treat new suspected cases as soon as possible, improve the outcome of potential cases and break all new transmission chains. Maintaining strong communication and coordination among partners, authorities and affected communities, as well as ongoing support and engagement with EVD victims are key in this response to the epidemic.

Figure 1: Confirmed and probable cases of Ebola virus disease by weeks of disease onset by health area. Data from 19 May 2020 *

* Excludes n = 74/3462 cases for which start dates have not been reported. Data in recent weeks are subject to delays in the case of confirmation and reporting, as well as ongoing data cleansing. “Inactive zones” means health zones that have not reported new cases in the last 42 days.

Table 1: Confirmed and probable cases of Ebola virus disease and number of health areas affected by the health zone, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, data as of 19 May 2020 **

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

Public health response

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

WHO risk assessment

On April 14, 2020, the WHO revised the risk assessment for this event from high to moderate at the national and regional levels, while the level of risk remained low globally. The risk assessment will be continuously re-evaluated in the coming days based on available and common information.

For further information, please see the section Statement of Meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Ebola Emergency Committee of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 14 April 2020

TKO advice

The WHO advises against any restriction on travel to and trade with the Democratic Republic of the Congo based on currently available information on this outbreak of EVD. Not all requirements for Ebola vaccination certificates are a reasonable basis for restricting movement across borders or issuing visas to travelers to / from affected countries. The WHO continues to closely monitor and, if necessary, verify travel and trade measures in relation to this event. Currently, no country has implemented travel measures that significantly disrupt international traffic to and from the Democratic Republic of Congo in connection with this EVD epidemic. Travelers should seek medical attention before traveling and should be based on good hygiene. Additional information is available at WHO recommendations for international traffic related to the Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

For more information see: