DRC Officially Declares End Of An Ebola Outbreak After Three Months, Six Deaths

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday officially declared the end of an Ebola outbreak that infected 12 people and killed six of them in the eastern province of North Kivu, reported Africa News. The announcement comes three months after the first case was reported in February.

“On this Monday, May 3, 2021, I am pleased to solemnly declare the end of the twelfth epidemic of the Ebola virus disease in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said the DRC’s Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani.

He said the health authorities were able to contain and end the Ebola outbreak using vaccines from the American laboratory Merck Sharpe and Dohme. He added that hundreds of people have been vaccinated since the resurgence of the epidemic on February 7 in North Kivu.

According to the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), Merck’s Ebola vaccine was given to more than 1,600 of the patients’ contacts, and contacts of contacts.

Despite the end of the outbreak announcement, the DRC’s government has appealed to the people to stay vigilant and maintain contact with surveillance teams who will continue to work with local health authorities in North Kivu.

The World Health Organization also congratulated the health authorities in the DRC, and the health workers “on the ground for their swift response which built on the country’s previous experience in tackling Ebola outbreaks.”

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said huge credit must be given to the local health workers and the national authorities for their prompt response, tenacity, experience, and hard work that helped to bring the outbreak under control.

 The WHO had an estimated 60 experts in the DRC to help local workers trace contacts, provide treatment, engage communities and vaccinate nearly 2,000 people at high risk, including more than 500 front-line workers.