WHO sees 'encouraging signs' in DR Congo Ebola response but says outbreak 'far from over'

The World ⁠Health Organization ​said on Wednesday there were encouraging signs measures to contain an Ebola epidemic ​in DR Congo were gaining ground, though it warned the outbreak was "far from over".

Transmission was declining in the most affected parts of Ituri province, ​WHO ‌Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"We are now starting to ⁠see encouraging signs that we are gaining ground," he said in a conference call but ‌warned the outbreak could still spread in a region with very ⁠high population mobility.

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DR Congo had reported more than 7,000 confirmed Ebola cases as of September 11.

The outbreak, the second most lethal on ​record behind one in West Africa that lasted from 2014 ‌to 2016, has spread to a seventh province.

Improved surveillance could lead to an increase in detected cases, while contact-tracing efforts had also increased, said Maria Van ‌Kerkhove, WHO's acting director of epidemic and pandemic threat management.

"We have many, many months ahead of ​us," Van Kerkhove said. "This is far from over."

Ebola epidemic in DR Congo is spreading 18 times faster than deadliest outbreak on record

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More than 3,000 healthcare and frontline workers had already been vaccinated with Merck's Ervebo, said Meg ​Doherty, WHO's director of science, research, evidence and quality for health.

Ervebo is ​licensed against Zaire ebolavirus, but its effectiveness against the ​Bundibugyo virus driving the current outbreak is not known.

Doherty said an observational study involving frontline workers was ​expected to begin shortly to assess the vaccine's effectiveness, while a separate mid-to-late-stage trial, led by Congo's National Institute of Biomedical Research with other partners, was expected to get under way in the coming weeks.

Ervebo will be ⁠among the first vaccines evaluated for efficacy in the trial, followed by other vaccine ⁠candidates specifically targeting Bundibugyo ​Ebola, she said. These include candidates from Moderna and one from the University of Oxford.