Ebola Outbreak DrCongo

Democratic of Congo (DRC) declared their tenth outbreak of Ebola in 40 years on 1 August 2018. The outbreak is centred in the northeast of the country, in North Kivu and Ituri provinces; cases have also been reported in South Kivu. With the number of cases having surpassed 3,000, it is now by far the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak. It is also the second-biggest Ebola epidemic ever recorded, behind the West Africa outbreak of 2014-2016.

During the first eight months of the epidemic, until March 2019, more than 1,000 cases of Ebola were reported in the affected region. However, between April and June 2019, this number doubled, with a further 1,000 new cases reported in just those three months. Between early June 2019 and the beginning of August, the number of new cases notified per week was high, and averaged between 75 and 100 each week; it then started slowly declining for the rest of the year.

In 2020, the number of cases recorded per week has declined dramatically, with just a handful of cases recorded throughout January and February. However, on 10 April – just three days before the outbreak was expected to be declared over – a new case was recorded in Beni. Six further cases had been recorded in the same area.

Although the last Ebola patient was discharged from the Beni ETC on 14 May, the outbreak is not yet officially over and there is a continued need for vigilance, especially in the midst of the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.