Ebola Outbreak Not Yet Under Control, Says Africa CDC

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the Ebola outbreak across parts of the continent is not yet under control.

Director-General of Africa CDC, Jean Kaseya, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Channels Television's Morning Brief.

He said the assessment followed a virtual ministerial meeting convened on October 28, which brought together more than 42 ministers and over 600 participants, including representatives of international organisations and development partners.

According to him, the meeting reviewed the outbreak's trajectory and latest epidemiological data, which indicated that transmission remained a major concern.

"We analysed the data and we saw that the outbreak is not yet under control," he said.

Kaseya said there have been over 10,200 confirmed cases and 5,000 deaths across the continent, with over 10,000 confirmed cases recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alone.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, has affected several African countries, including the DRC, Kenya and Nigeria. The DRC remains the worst-affected, accounting for the overwhelming majority of infections and deaths.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the DRC had recorded 10,193 confirmed cases and 4,960 deaths as of October 28. Kenya has 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 patient, who had travelled from Uganda to Nigeria, was subsequently isolated and treated before being medically evacuated to Switzerland on October 26 after her condition stabilised. Her husband, identified as a close contact, was also evacuated.

Following the evacuation, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said Nigeria had no confirmed Ebola cases, but the organisation clarified that this did not mean Nigeria had been declared Ebola-free, noting that health authorities were still monitoring contacts and must complete the required 42-day period.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in its October 29 situation report, said 62 contacts linked to the index case had been identified and were being monitored, with no new or symptomatic contacts identified in the preceding 24 hours.