DR Congo’s Ebola Outbreak “Increasingly Heterogeneous”: WHO
The WHO reports that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is becoming increasingly heterogeneous, with varying transmission rates across different regions. A concerning rise in community deaths suggests significant barriers to accessing formal healthcare.
Why it matters
The shift in transmission patterns and high community mortality rates pose a major challenge to public health containment efforts.
KINSHASA, Sept 9 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is "becoming increasingly heterogeneous," with divergent transmission trends across affected provinces and health zones, according to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) report published on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
"The trends reinforce an increasingly heterogeneous epidemic, with declining transmission in some areas occurring alongside intensification and continued geographic spread elsewhere," the report said.
A key development is the rising proportion of deaths occurring in the community.
During the week of Aug 31 to Sept 6, the proportion of confirmed deaths in the community reached 75 per cent, the highest weekly proportion observed during the reporting period, up from 56.6 per cent two weeks earlier.
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