DR Congo has listed about 30,000 Ebola contacts, versus roughly 420,000 expected for about 7,000 confirmed cases, Africa CDC chief Jean Kaseya told Reuters. He said over 80% of new cases were among people not on contact lists, suggesting ongoing community spread.
The WHO said the outbreak had spread to two additional health zones: Bulu in Sud Ubangi province and Dungu in Haut-Uele province near South Sudan, bringing the total to 63 zones across seven provinces. UN and Congolese officials had reported signs of slower transmission in parts of Ituri, the outbreak's epicenter. Detected in May, it is the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record, after West Africa's 2014–16 outbreak.
Kaseya declined to predict when the outbreak would be controlled. He said he could be in a position to forecast whether it could be fully controlled within four weeks if new confirmed cases were found through contact lists, community deaths were zero and there were no new infections among healthcare workers. Africa CDC said nearly $2.9 billion was pledged for the response at a US-convened meeting in New York, including $886 million from the United States.
