Congo shifts to village approach as Ebola contact tracing lags
Authorities and Africa CDC officials say the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is accelerating and likely has not peaked, spreading from three to 60 health zones since mid-May and producing 6,250 cases and 3,039 deaths. Insecurity, displacement and intense population movements have hampered detection and response, and contact tracing is far short of needs: Africa CDC estimates just 19% of an expected 97,600 contacts from recent cases have been traced. Treatment capacity rose to more than 1,300 beds but occupancy sits at 67% (869 patients), while surveillance, lab testing and safe burials remain inadequate.
Only 19% of expected Ebola contacts have been traced.
Context
The outbreak was declared in mid-May and then spread widely. Authorities shifted to a village centered approach to build trust. If tracing and surveillance do not improve, cases could keep rising.
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