DR Congo: Authorities officially declare the end of the Ebola outbreak
The Democratic Republic of Congo officially declared on Tuesday, the end of an Ebola outbreak after a 10-week reoccurrence of the disease, which left 33 dead.
“After a 42-day observation period during which no new confirmed cases were observed and in accordance with the International Health Regulations, I declare today, 24 July 2018, that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is over,” said Minister of Health Oly Ilunga in a statement.
The recent epidemic, which is the ninth largest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1976, began in the remote north-western region of Bikoro, where the first cases were recorded on 8 May 2018.
The same strain of this highly contagious disease has affected West African states of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2013 to 2015, killing more than 11,300 people. “In total, after verification, the National Coordinating Committee recorded 54 cases (of Ebola), including 33 deaths and 21 survivors”.
