KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday announced the end of a nearly three-month outbreak of Ebola that claimed six lives out of 12 known cases.
The outbreak, the DRC’s 12th since the disease was first identified in 1976, was rolled back thanks to a campaign to vaccinate hundreds of people, the new health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani said.
The disease was first detected on February 7 in the eastern province of North Kivu, where a 22-month epidemic ended last June after inflicting a death toll of 2,287, the worst in the DRC’s history.
Mbungani urged the population to remain vigilant, and said surveillance teams will continue to work with the local health authorities to watch for any further cases.
A much-feared viral disease that can lead to internal bleeding and organ failure, Ebola killed some 11,000 people in West Africa between 2013 and 2016.
The DRC is also fighting the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused nearly 30,000 cases locally, of which 768 have been fatal.
© Agence France-Presse
