Ebola outbreak not under control in Africa, CDC warns

By Adegboyega Adeleye The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned that the Ebola outbreak spreading across parts of Africa remains uncontrolled, with more than 10,200 confirmed cases and over 5,000 deaths recorded across the continent. The Director-General of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, gave the warning on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief programme, raising concerns about the continued transmission and changing geographical spread of the disease.

Kaseya said the assessment followed a virtual ministerial meeting held on October 28, which brought together more than 42 ministers and over 600 participants, including representatives of international organisations and development partners, to review the outbreak and ongoing response efforts. “We analysed the data and we saw that the outbreak is not yet under control,” he said.

He disclosed that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had recorded more than 10,000 confirmed infections, while the combined number of confirmed cases across the continent had exceeded 10,200. “We have achieved what is a number of 10,000 people confirmed cases in DRC and also, if we put together, it’s more than 10,200 confirmed cases across the continent,” Kaseya said.

Kaseya said more than 5,000 people had died from the outbreak, although figures published by health authorities showed a slightly lower confirmed death toll. “We also saw that we have more than 5,000 people already passed on due to this outbreak,” he added. Kaseya also expressed concern over changes in the geographical spread of the disease, noting that its epicentre was shifting.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus and has affected several African countries, including the DRC, Kenya and Nigeria. The DRC remains the worst-affected country, accounting for the overwhelming majority of infections and deaths. Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control showed that the country had recorded 10,193 confirmed cases and 4,960 related deaths as of October 28.

Kenya has also reported nine confirmed cases, including two deaths, following an imported infection linked to the DRC. Nigeria confirmed its first Ebola case in more than a decade on October 20, after a 42-year-old Swiss woman tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain in Abuja. The woman, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was isolated and treated by Nigerian health workers before being medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 for further treatment after her condition stabilised.

Her husband, who was identified as a close contact, was also evacuated. Following their evacuation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola cases. However, the WHO clarified that the development did not mean Nigeria had been declared Ebola-free, explaining that health authorities were still monitoring people who had contact with the patient.

The organisation said Nigeria must complete the required 42-day monitoring period before an official Ebola-free declaration could be made. In its October 29 situation report, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said 62 contacts linked to the index case had been identified and were being monitored. The agency added that no new contacts or symptomatic contacts had been identified in the preceding 24 hours.

The continued spread of the disease has heightened concerns about cross-border transmission and the capacity of African countries to contain infectious diseases amid increased movement of people across the continent.