WHO says suspected Ebola cases drop to 116 after hundreds are ruled out

GENEVA – There have been 321 confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) outbreak and 116 suspected cases, marking a large drop in the number of suspected cases as hundreds were ruled out after an investigation, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on June 2.

The agency said there have been 48 deaths in the DRC, and six people have recovered.

The Congolese authorities first put out the new case numbers on June 1.

Later, Uganda’s Health Ministry confirmed six more new cases of Ebola, bringing the total confirmed in the country so far to 15.

The WHO said on May 29 that there were 906 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the DRC, including 223 suspected deaths that were being investigated.

Later, Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in an opinion piece published by the Financial Times on May 31 that more than 1,100 suspected cases were being investigated.

When asked why the latest figures showed a significantly lower number of suspected cases, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the data suggested hundreds of cases have been discounted.

“They have been cleared out and have either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else,” Lindmeier said, adding that the numbers would fluctuate over time as people get tested.

A suspected case includes anyone who is picked up by surveillance or who presents with symptoms at a health centre, he added. Confirmed cases comprise only those who have tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo.

Testing has been a challenge in this outbreak. Initially, the more common tests used for Ebola did not detect the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine, and capacity has been limited.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website also listed 116 suspected cases.

“On May 29, the DRC Ministry of Health updated their total suspect case count to remove suspected cases that have been ruled out after investigation and suspected deaths that are pending the results of ongoing investigation,” it said.

The Africa CDC announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15. REUTERS