Africa CDC ECG Recommends Sustained Ebola Response in DRC Amid Ongoing Transmission

Four months after the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was declared a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security, the Africa CDC Emergency Consultative Group completed an independent scientific review. The group notes declines in cases and deaths in some hotspots such as Ituri but finds active transmission and rising numbers in North Kivu, indicating the epidemic has not peaked. It urges the DRC government and partners to maintain the PHECS designation, scale up response intensity—especially in North Kivu—address the roughly 60 % of deaths occurring in communities, strengthen contact identification and data quality, and fast‑track the restoration of essential health services. The review also calls for continued vaccine studies with clear informed consent and intensified surveillance in newly affected or re‑emerging zones.