The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has reported that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) now has 1,274 confirmed cases.
The agency also stated that the number of healthcare workers infected has reached 96.
Wazih Cho, a Data Analyst and Epidemic Intelligence Officer at Africa CDC, shared this information on Monday during a webinar about the outbreak.
“In the past 24 hours, we reported 47 new confirmed Ebola cases and 12 deaths in the DRC, with 96 percent coming from Équateur Province,” he said.
“Cumulative figures now stand at 1,274 confirmed cases with 360 deaths, indicating ongoing transmission at the provincial level.”
Cho noted that Équateur Province had 45 of the 47 new cases, making it the main hotspot of transmission in Africa.
He said the spread is partly due to exposure in health facilities. He mentioned that 92 healthcare workers had been infected in the DRC and four in Uganda, totaling 96.
According to him, confirmed cases have now appeared in 35 health zones across the DRC, showing that transmission is widespread beyond the original epicenter.
“For Uganda, we have a total of 20 confirmed cases, mostly from DRC. This includes 15 imported cases, four healthcare worker infections, and two deaths,” he explained.
“All cases in Uganda are classified under Kampala. We have followed up with all contacts in Uganda, with only nine still being monitored. The case fatality rate in Uganda is at 10 percent as of day 27,” he said.
Cho reported that Uganda has not seen a new Ebola case since June 21, but monitoring continues.
He added that 23 of the 36 health areas in Équateur Province have confirmed cases, showing that community transmission is ongoing in the province.
He mentioned that North Kivu, which borders Équateur and Uganda, is also seeing cases, while South Kivu has had no new infections for at least 30 days after recording three cases.
Cho said Africa CDC received alerts on June 28 from Tshopo Province, which borders Ituri Province and South Sudan.
He noted that two confirmed cases between June 9 and June 23 suggest the outbreak has spread to an area that was previously unaffected.
According to Cho, the epidemic curve shows that the first positive case was detected late, after community transmission had already started.
He explained that both seven-day and three-day moving averages show the outbreak is still at or near peak transmission, with predictions of more cases in the next three weeks.
Cho added that a small number of health zones account for about 80 percent of confirmed cases, while many treatment centres are operating above capacity.
He said over 20,000 community health workers have been mobilised to improve case detection, contact tracing, and community awareness efforts.
In his comments, Oyewale Tomori, former President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, praised Africa CDC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for their work in responding to the outbreak.
Tomori described the One Health approach as a strategy that recognizes the close links between human, animal, and environmental health.
He said about 70 percent of new infectious diseases come from animals, spreading to humans.
“Ebola, SARS, and other viruses show this animal-human connection, with various ways of spreading,” he said.
Tomori pointed out that deforestation, urban growth, mining, migration due to conflict, bushmeat trade, climate change, and weak public health systems are major factors causing new infectious diseases.
He emphasized that better surveillance, early detection, and coordinated response systems are key to preventing and controlling outbreaks before they grow.
Tomori said the One Health approach needs veterinarians, doctors, social scientists, engineers, and economists to work together for effective outbreak prevention and response.
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