Health officials have sharply revised down the number of suspected Ebola infections in the Democratic Republic of Congo after investigations ruled out hundreds of cases, according to updated figures released by the World Health Organization.
The WHO said the outbreak now stands at 321 confirmed cases and 116 suspected cases — a steep drop from earlier tallies of suspected infections. The agency reported 48 deaths and six recoveries in Congo, noting that Congolese authorities first published the updated case numbers yesterday.
Across the border in Uganda, there have been nine confirmed cases and one associated death, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
Just days earlier, the WHO said on Friday that it was tracking 906 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including 223 suspected deaths under investigation.
The suspected case count had been framed even higher over the weekend. In a Financial Times op-ed published on Sunday, Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote that more than 1,100 suspected cases were being investigated.
Pressed on why the latest WHO update shows far fewer suspected cases, Mr Lindmeier said the numbers reflect a large number of cases that have since been discounted.
“They have been cleared out and have either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else,” Mr Lindmeier said, adding that the totals can shift as more people are tested and reclassified.
Health workers wearing protective equipment in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo
Mr Lindmeier said a suspected case can include anyone flagged through surveillance systems or anyone who comes to a health centre with symptoms consistent with Ebola. Confirmed cases, he added, are limited to people who test positive for Ebola Bundibugyo.
Testing has proved difficult during this outbreak. Initially, commonly used Ebola tests did not detect the Bundibugyo strain, and there is no approved vaccine for it, while laboratory capacity has been constrained.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website also listed 116 suspected cases, and added: “On May 29,the DRC Ministry of Health updated their total suspect case count to remove suspected cases that have been ruled out after investigation and suspected deaths that are pending the results of ongoing investigation.”
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola,Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on 15 May, and the World Health Organization swiftly declared it a public health emergency of international concern.
