By RFIPosted on 14-12-2019Changed on 14-12-2019 at 23:10

Will the Ebola epidemic ever end? In recent weeks, Congolese authorities have been optimistic about the possibility of an end to the epidemic in December or January. But with the attack on response teams in Biakato, in the province of Ituri, on the night of November 27 to 28, 34 cases have been identified in the past two weeks, including ten in Mabalako in North Kivu. Given the situation, the coordination of the response no longer dares to estimate.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the head of the response, was however on the verge of seeing the end of the epidemic before this peak of new cases occurred after the attack on Biakato by militiamen . “ Had it not been for the events of the night of 27-28, we were almost at the end of the epidemic. We are already seeing the end of the tunnel. These events are like a stab in the back. We need to revise our estimates. "

→ Read also our survey : A year of Ebola in the DRC: the challenges of a controversial response

In total, five health zones out of the 29 formerly affected in both Kivus and Ituri are still recording cases. In the 24 others, Professor Muyembe does not rule out declaring the end of the epidemic and withdrawing his teams. “ It is possible that we are asking WHO to say that the health zones that have had more than 42 days without an Ebola case, we can declare them free, so that we are concentrating our efforts in Biakato and Lwemba. "

He is also considering this option for financial reasons: “ If we don't do this, many people will stay in the response almost without working. For example, those who are in Goma, what are they doing now? When we say that we are making a partial declaration, it will be the health zone that will be responsible for surveillance, it is no longer expensive teams that will follow this surveillance. "

Today, response agents have been able to return to Biakato, in particular thanks to the deployment of 80 additional police and military personnel, responsible in particular for securing them on a daily basis.

→ Review: Ebola: the story of a killer virus, in an infographic

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