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Situation Update
In the week of 18 to 24 November 2019, seven new confirmed EVD cases were reported from four health zones in two affected provinces in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of the confirmed cases in this week came from Mabalako Health Zone (57%; n=4).
Violence and civil unrest in the week have led to the suspension of Ebola response activities in some areas of Beni, Butembo, and Oicha health zones. On 26 November 2019, some response personnel were temporarily relocated from Beni, though most remain in place to continue responding. The immediate focus will be on maintaining the safety and welfare of response personnel while preserving essential response activities in these places.
The disruptions to the response and lack of access to Ebola-affected communities is threatening to reverse recent progress. As seen previously during this outbreak, such disruptions limit contact tracing, surveillance, and vaccination efforts, and they often result in increased transmission.
In the past 21 days (from 4 to 24 November 2019), 12 health areas and four health zones have reported cases (Table 1, Figure 2). During this period, a total of 28 confirmed cases were reported, with the majority reported from Mabalako (54%; n=15 cases) and Beni (32%; n=9). There have been no new confirmed cases in Nyakunde Health Zone for 42 days.
As of 24 November 2019, a total of 3303 EVD cases, including 3185 confirmed and 118 probable cases have been reported, of which 2199 cases died (overall case fatality ratio 67%). Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 56% (1862) were female, 28% (935) were children aged less than 18 years, and 5% (163) were healthcare workers.