KINSHASA, July 23 — Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have announced encouraging early indicators that the ongoing Ebola outbreak across eastern parts of the country may be entering a phase of stabilization, though officials warn it is still too early to confirm the epidemic has hit its peak.
Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the DRC’s national Ebola response coordination, shared the update during a press briefing Wednesday in Bunia, the capital of eastern DRC’s Ituri province, which stands as the epicenter of the current outbreak. According to Lufongola, the rate of new confirmed Ebola cases in affected provinces has reached a statistical plateau, with a small but noticeable downward trend recorded in recent weeks.
However, Lufongola emphasized that from an epidemiological perspective, drawing a definitive conclusion that the outbreak has passed its peak would be premature. The trajectory of viral outbreaks can shift rapidly, and sustained monitoring will be critical to confirm whether the current slowdown will hold.
On a positive note, the country’s Ebola response capacity has continued to expand significantly since the outbreak was first declared in mid-May. As of the latest update, affected regions now host 23 dedicated Ebola treatment centers, 19 fully operational testing laboratories, and a total of nearly 800 patient beds to care for those infected. This expanded infrastructure has allowed response teams to isolate more cases quickly and deliver care to a greater share of the confirmed patient pool.
Despite this progress in scaling up response capacity, Lufongola outlined three persistent major barriers to bringing the outbreak fully under control: widespread community resistance to public health measures, ongoing insecurity in conflict-affected eastern regions that hinders access for response teams, and the continued geographic spread of the virus across multiple provinces.
To reverse the course of the outbreak, Lufongola stressed that three core priorities remain non-negotiable: rapid early detection of new cases, building and sustaining public trust in local health facilities, and broad community adherence to evidence-based preventive measures. These steps are the foundation of breaking ongoing chains of human-to-human transmission, he added.
Official government data updated to July 20 puts the total number of confirmed Ebola cases at 2,473 since the outbreak began. Of those cases, 999 have resulted in death, while 482 patients have successfully recovered and been discharged. Currently, 737 confirmed patients remain either in isolation facilities or receiving inpatient hospital care.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of ebolavirus, which was first declared by DRC authorities on May 15. To date, it has spread to impact five provinces across the eastern half of the country.