DRC Ebola outbreak: last patient discharged, 42-day countdown begins

The last known Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was discharged from a treatment centre in Bulape, Kasai province, on Sunday, health authorities said, beginning a 42-day countdown that must pass with no new cases before the outbreak can be declared over. The case was the 19th recovery in an outbreak first announced on September 4 in the remote Bulape health zone.

Since the outbreak began, authorities have recorded 64 cases, including 53 confirmed and 11 probable infections. Reported death tolls vary between accounts, with figures cited at about 43 to 45 fatalities. No new cases have been reported since September 25, officials said.

Health teams from the Ministry of Health, supported by the World Health Organization and partner agencies, mounted a rapid response despite the challenges presented by the area’s poor roads and limited infrastructure. WHO deployed multidisciplinary teams to bolster surveillance, clinical care, infection prevention and control, logistics and community engagement. A 32-bed Ebola treatment centre, equipped with a two-bed Intensive Infectious Disease Treatment Module, was established in Bulape in record time; officials said it was the...