DR Congo's Ebola outbreak increasingly heterogeneous with high community deaths

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is "becoming increasingly heterogeneous," with divergent transmission trends across affected provinces and health zones, according to the latest WHO external situation report published on Tuesday.

"The trends reinforce an increasingly heterogeneous epidemic, with declining transmission in some areas occurring alongside intensification and continued geographic spread elsewhere," the report said.



A key development is the rising proportion of deaths occurring in the community. During the week of Aug. 31 to Sept. 6, the proportion of confirmed deaths in the community reached 75 percent, the highest weekly proportion observed during the reporting period, up from 56.6 percent two weeks earlier.



"This divergence is concerning, as the increase in community deaths alongside the continued decline in treatment facilities deaths indicates that the earlier reduction in overall mortality has not been sustained," the report said.