The Kinshasa government has revealed that it has effectively brought Ebola under control, Taarifa reliably reports.
The 17th Ebola epidemic was officially declared on May 15.
“The 17th epidemic is under control and the peak was reached at the beginning of the third week of August 2026,” the government spokesman said, reading the minutes of the Council of Ministers meeting on Friday.
However, the update comes at a time of persistent local outbreaks and the spread of the disease to a seventh province.
Priority surveillance remains necessary in Beni, Isiro, Komanda, Butembo, and Mangala, where recent outbreaks have been recorded.
He said, “all indicators point to a decrease in the number of cases.” Ten of the 61 health zones previously affected have reportedly not recorded any new cases for at least 21 days.
A slowdown in transmission has been observed in particular in the health zones of Nia-Nia, Nizi and Mongbwalu, in the province of Ituri, the main focus of the epidemic, the government added.
According to the latest report from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), South Ubangi has reported it’s first case, which has become the seventh province to be affected.
The case in South Ubangi was reported in the Bulu health zone. It involves a 23-year-old man who died after leaving South Kivu province on July 10.
As of September 10, the DRC had recorded 7,022 confirmed cases of Ebola, including 3,398 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 48.4%.
On September 10th alone, 80 new cases and 49 deaths were recorded. North Kivu accounted for more than half of these new infections, with 43 cases compared to 30 in Ituri.
Furthermore, the treatment centers in North Kivu showed an occupancy rate of 141.4%, according to the INSP.
