Four DRC Zones Record 42 Days Without Ebola

Four health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo have now gone 42 days without recording a new Ebola case, a milestone that marks a potential turning point in the country’s fight against the Bundibugyo outbreak. The zones—Kambala, Goma, Lubunga, and Miti-Murhesa—have reached the international standard for determining that Ebola transmission has ended, which is twice the virus’s 21-day incubation period.

Milestones and Remaining Challenges

Five additional DRC zones have recorded no new cases for at least three weeks. Uganda also hit the same 42-day mark on Thursday, effectively ending its own outbreak. Professor Yap Boum, Africa CDC’s head of Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the progress shows it is possible to break transmission even in difficult environments. The message is that it is definitely possible in that environment to break the transmission, he told reporters.

But the situation remains uneven across affected areas. Mongbwalu, Rwampara, and Nizi—all located in Ituri province—continue to report the highest number of new infections. The outbreak has spread across 58 health zones in total.

New Approach to Community Response

Authorities are now rolling out a village-based strategy designed to improve how communities respond to the outbreak. The approach builds from clusters of households up to villages, health areas, health zones, and specialized response teams. These teams will handle everything from safe burials to vaccination campaigns.

Boum said the decentralized method will improve trust, access, and mobilization at the local level. Community healthcare workers will receive $150 per month under this framework, a figure he called a positive development that will speed up deployment in the village-centred approach.

The shift toward community-based response comes as essential health services in affected areas have suffered serious disruption. In Mangala health district, facility births have dropped by 25%, while antenatal visits have fallen sharply in Bambu. Measles vaccinations have been hit hardest, plummeting 31% in Nia Nia and 25% in Bambu. Eight health zones have seen declines in baby immunizations overall, and new consultations have decreased across the region.

For families in these communities, the collapse of routine services compounds the fear and disruption already caused by the outbreak. When treatment centers become associated with illness rather than healing, people delay seeking care for conditions that have nothing to do with Ebola—sometimes with serious consequences for mothers and young children.

Health Worker Payments and Response Staffing

Boum cited two main reasons for the decline in health services. Some facilities at the outbreak’s epicenter closed after staff became infected with Ebola. Others saw patients stay away because they worried about catching the virus at hospitals treating Ebola cases. Some health facilities at the epicentre of the outbreak had closed after health workers became infected, Boum said.

Ongoing strikes by health workers over unpaid salaries are being handled health zone by health zone, according to Boum. A major challenge has been ensuring that all outbreak response workers appear on government payrolls, since some were recruited by different partner organizations. Implementing that registration and payment has been quite tedious, he acknowledged. Boum confirmed that 2,800 health workers have now received payment from the government or partners.

As of Thursday, the DRC had recorded 5,656 cases and 2,715 deaths, with 1,245 people recovered. The case fatality rate stands at 48%.