Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday declared an end to the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, which has killed at least 34 people since August.
Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi, head of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), said the outbreak had “effectively ended” ahead of an official ceremony in Kinshasa. He confirmed 53 cases with 34 fatalities, while another 11 suspected deaths likely linked to the virus brought the toll to 45.
The outbreak began on August 20 in Kasai province when a 34-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to hospital. Authorities formally declared an outbreak in early September and launched a vaccination campaign mid-month, despite logistical challenges in a country four times the size of France with poor transport infrastructure. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision supplied 45,000 additional doses to support the effort.
Ebola, first identified in Zaire (now DR Congo) in 1976, has caused 16 outbreaks in the country. The deadliest occurred between 2018 and 2020, killing nearly 2,300 people out of 3,500 infected. Across Africa, the virus has claimed 15,000 lives in the past 50 years.
Transmission occurs through contact with bodily fluids, with symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding. The virus is contagious only once symptoms appear, following an incubation period of two to 21 days.