DRC Declares End To Latest Ebola Outbreak With Only Confirmed Case So Far

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday declared an end to the latest Ebola virus outbreak, reported The Reuters.

The country’s 15^th Ebola outbreak was declared on August 22 when the health authorities confirmed one Ebola case in the eastern city of Beni, in North Kivu province, on August 22.

In a statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak was the virus’s “least catastrophic” since no other case was recorded in the DRC.

Testing showed the case was genetically linked to the 2018-2020 outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which killed nearly 2,300 people.

“After 42 days of reinforced surveillance without a new confirmed case … I am happy to solemnly declare the end of the 15th epidemic … that lasted one month and 12 days,” the DRC’s Minister of Public Health Mbungani Mbanda said in a separate statement.

First identified in 1976, the Ebola virus has since set off a series of epidemics in various African countries, killing about 15,000 people. The DRC’s previous outbreak was in northwest Equateur province, which was declared over on July 4 after five deaths.

The WHO said the end of the 15th Ebola outbreak in the DRC comes as neighbouring Uganda is struggling to contain a recently declared Ebola outbreak of its own.

Uganda’s health ministry declared an Ebola outbreak last week after a case of the relatively rare Sudan strain was detected in the country’s Mubende district. The virus has currently spread to various other districts including Kyegegwa and Kassanda districts, with the Ugandan Health Ministry reporting that cumulative cases had risen to 36, including confirmed and probable cases.

According to the WHO, there is no vaccine currently for the rare Sudan strain. However, the Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) vaccine has tested effective in protecting against the Zaire Ebola variant.