Last Ebola Patient Discharged in DR Congo, Says WHO

The World Health Organization says the last Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been discharged from a treatment centre in Kasai province. The patient was the 19th person to recover out of 64 confirmed and suspected cases recorded since the outbreak was declared in early September.

WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, described the recovery as a “remarkable achievement,” noting that no new infections have been reported since September 25. If the country records no further cases within 42 days, the outbreak will officially be declared over.

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The outbreak, the 16th in the DRC, began in the Bulape and Mweka areas of Kasai province, where 45 people have died. Health officials say the remote terrain made access difficult but may have helped limit the spread of the virus.

WHO said it has deployed response teams, built a 32-bed treatment centre, and vaccinated more than 35,000 people in the affected areas. Ebola was first detected in the DRC in 1976, with the virus killing up to 90 per cent of untreated patients according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.