12th outbreak of deadly Ebola virus in DRC declared over

THE end of the 12th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was marked yesterday, just three months after the first case was reported in North Kivu.

The outbreak that re-emerged in February came nine months after another outbreak in the same province was declared over.

The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated the country’s health authorities and the heath workers on the ground for their swift response, which built on previous experience in tackling Ebola outbreaks.

This outbreak is the country’s fourth in less than three years.

Eleven confirmed cases and one probable case, six deaths and six recoveries were recorded in four health zones in North Kivu since February 7, when the Ministry of Health announced the resurgence of Ebola in Butembo, a city in North Kivu Province and one of the hot spots of the 2018–2020 outbreak.

Results from genome sequencing conducted by the country’s National Institute of Biomedical Research found that the first Ebola case detected in the outbreak was linked to the previous outbreak, but the source of infection is yet to be determined.

“Huge credit must be given to the local health workers and the national authorities for their prompt response, tenacity, experience and hard work that brought this outbreak under control,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.

“Although the outbreak has ended, we must stay alert for a possible resurgence and use the growing expertise on emergency responses to address other health threats the country faces.”

The WHO had nearly 60 experts on the ground and as soon as the outbreak was declared, helped local workers to trace contacts, provide treatment, engage communities and vaccinate nearly 2 000 people at high risk, including over 500 front-line workers.

While the 12th outbreak is over, there is a need for continued vigilance and maintaining a strong surveillance system as potential flare-ups are possible in the months to come, the WHO said.

“It is important to continue with sustained disease surveillance, monitoring of alerts and working with communities to detect and respond rapidly to any new cases. The WHO will continue to assist health authorities with their efforts to quickly contain a sudden re-emergence of Ebola.”

Currently there is an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Guinea, which began in February this year.