The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced the official end of the most recent Ebola outbreak in the Central African country. The outbreak of the deadly disease was nipped in the bud relatively quickly, but observers are urging vigilance for new cases.
The country makes the announcement 42 days after the last Ebola patient was declared cured. That is about twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola infections.
The outbreak in North Kivu, a province in northeastern DRC where violence has taken place in various places in recent weeks, is considered over after three months. In total, eleven confirmed cases and one probable case have been discovered. Six of the infected persons have succumbed to the disease.
Dangerous disease
The extremely dangerous virus – about half of the Ebola patients do not survive, and there is no treatment for it – was, according to Doctors Without Borders, under control with, among other things, a vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Merck. More than 1,600 civilians who came into contact with the confirmed cases were vaccinated.
Ebola can cause a high fever, internal bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, and organ failure. Symptoms usually occur between two days and three weeks after you contract the virus. The virus is spread to humans through bodily fluids.
The local government and international aid organizations are only cautiously optimistic. It is the fourth outbreak in three years, with a total of 12 Ebola outbreaks since the disease was first diagnosed in the country. Years of Ebola epidemic claimed more than 2,200 lives in DRC between 2018 and 2020.
Vigilance required
There are several reasons to remain particularly vigilant about new outbreaks. One is that the virus can remain dormant in the body of a healed Ebola patient for a long time. In eastern DRC there are currently at least 1,100 people who have survived the disease.
“Constant vigilance and a strong detection system is necessary as flare-ups are possible in the coming months,” the World Health Organization said in a press release.
Maintaining a thorough tracking system is not a matter of course in North Kivu, however, due to instability in the region. It is very unsafe in some places; the health infrastructure is weak and it is also an area with a lot of mobility and porous borders.
Strengthen healthcare infrastructure
It now comes down to testing for the virus in suspected deaths in the coming months and conducting contact investigations. But the International Red Cross, among others, has already warned that more international support will be needed to strengthen the local health infrastructure sufficiently to cope with that task.
Another Ebola outbreak is currently underway in the West African country of Guinea, which also started in February this year.
The country makes the announcement 42 days after the last Ebola patient was declared cured. That is about twice the maximum incubation period for Ebola infections. The outbreak in North Kivu, a province in northeastern DRC where violence has taken place in various places in recent weeks, is considered over after three months. In total, eleven confirmed cases and one probable case have been discovered. Six of the infected persons have succumbed to the disease. The extremely dangerous virus – about half of the Ebola patients do not survive, and there is no treatment for it – was, according to Doctors Without Borders, under control with, among other things, a vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Merck. More than 1,600 civilians who came into contact with the confirmed cases were vaccinated. Ebola can cause a high fever, internal bleeding, vomiting, diarrhea, and organ failure. Symptoms usually occur between two days and three weeks after you contract the virus. The virus is spread to humans through bodily fluids. The local government and international aid organizations are only cautiously optimistic. It is the fourth outbreak in three years, with a total of 12 Ebola outbreaks since the disease was first diagnosed in the country. Between 2018 and 2020, a yearlong Ebola epidemic claimed more than 2,200 lives in DRC. There are several reasons to remain particularly vigilant about new outbreaks. One is that the virus can remain dormant in the body of a healed Ebola patient for a long time. In eastern DRC there are currently at least 1,100 people who have survived the disease. “Constant vigilance and a strong detection system is necessary as flare-ups are possible in the coming months,” the World Health Organization said in a press release. Maintaining a thorough tracking system is not a matter of course in North Kivu, however, due to instability in the region. It is very unsafe in some places; the health infrastructure is weak and it is also an area with a lot of mobility and porous borders. It now comes down to testing for the virus in suspected deaths in the coming months and conducting contact investigations. But the International Red Cross, among others, has already warned that more international support will be needed to strengthen the local health infrastructure sufficiently to cope with that task. Another Ebola outbreak is currently underway in the West African country of Guinea, which also started in February this year.
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