Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday, said, the latest Ebola outbreak was officially over, as the country marked 42 days with no new cases.
The start of latest outbreak was confirmed on October 8 after a three-year-old boy died in Beni, North Kivu province in eastern DR Congo.
Authorities then confirmed 8 more cases and 3 probable ones as well as nine deaths in the area over the next two months, with more than half of the cases involving children under the age of five.
Health Minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani said the outbreak was detected late because of a strike by healthcare workers in the area.
On Thursday he declared the outbreak officially over.
The World Health Organization confirmed that no new cases have been reported at the end of a 42-day countdown, two incubation periods after the last confirmed case emerged.
“After 42 days of reinforced surveillance without a new confirmed case, I am happy to declare the end of the 13th epidemic of the Ebola virus disease” in North Kivu, Mbungani said in Kinshasa.
AFP