The number of Ebola cases in Africa is falling, but experts warn that the threat is far from over. A coalition of health organisations, including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has today called for sustained UK-led monitoring of the disease, arguing that the region remains vulnerable to new outbreaks. The warning comes as the World Health Organisation reports a 40% drop in confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo since August.
Yet, as the immediate crisis recedes, researchers point to fragile health systems, cross-border migration, and a lack of routine surveillance that could allow the virus to resurge. Dr. Anne-Marie O’Donnell, a public health specialist at the University of Liverpool, said: “The decline is welcome, but it has not defeated the virus.
Without persistent oversight, we risk losing the gains we have made. UK expertise in mobile laboratories and community engagement has proven essential, and we cannot afford to pull back now.” The request for continued British involvement is a political flashpoint.
The government has already scaled back its overseas aid budget, and critics argue that further cuts to health monitoring could have deadly consequences. Local healthcare workers in affected regions describe a patchwork of international support. “We see the teams leave as soon as the headlines fade,” said Mariam Diallo, a nurse in eastern Congo.
“But the virus doesn’t follow the news cycle. It hides in the villages, waiting for the next lapse.” The report, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, identifies three key risks: undiagnosed cases in remote areas, the movement of survivors who can harbour the virus, and the spread of misinformation that hampers vaccination drives.
The UK’s Public Health Rapid Support Team, which has deployed over 100 experts to outbreaks since 2016, is singled out as a model for effective response. Yet its future funding is uncertain beyond next year. For communities that have lost loved ones, the call for continued vigilance is personal.
In the town of Butembo, where the 2018-2020 outbreak killed more than 2,000 people, survivor Joseph Kambale said: “We thought it was over, then it came back. The British doctors stayed when others fled. We need them to stay again.
” The stakes are high, not only for Africa. Global health security depends on stopping outbreaks at their source. As one UK official put it, “A contained virus in Congo is a virus that never reaches Manchester.
” The message is clear: the battle against Ebola is not won. It is merely paused.
