Ebola DRC WHO

After the last Ebola patient was discharged on March 3rd at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced today the beginning of a 42-day observation period before it can declare the end of the Ebola outbreak - if there are no new cases diagnosed. WHO and partners have been combating the disease for the last 19 months.

Speaking to the media at the United Nations in Geneva, Dr. Ibrahima-Soce Fall, Assistant Director- General, Emergency Response, World Health Organisation (WHO) said that “this week on Tuesday when the last Ebola patient was discharged from the treatment center in Beni, her name is Masika, she was the last person diagnosed for Ebola on the 17^th of February in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Health workers and other responders sacrificed a lot to get to this point”.

Since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in August 2018, a total of 3,444 Ebola cases were reported from 29 health zones as of 3 March 2020, including 3310 confirmed and 134 probable cases out of which 2264 cases died. Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 56% were female, 28% were children aged less than 18 years, and 5% health care workers.

It is recorded as the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history.

A main barrier to the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo was, according to Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall, the ongoing security situation in the country. He said that “since the outbreak started in August 2018, we have recorded overall 1, 700 security incidents and 60 persons are related to war and some kind of criminality in the zone and we have recorded 420 attacks on health care and health personal resulting into 11 deaths and 86 injuries among the health workers and patients”.

Although an important milestone in the outbreak has been reached, there is still a high risk of re-emergence of the Ebola disease, and a critical need to maintain response operations.

WHO’s Emergency Response Director is cautious when saying that “the outbreak is not over as you might be aware. WHO recommends waiting for two full incubation periods, that is 42 days after the last person tested negative a second time before declaring the end of the outbreak”.

He adds that “you must stay in active response mode to get over the finish line. You have to be prepared for other cases emerging, it is a very real risk, you might remember that during the outbreak in West Africa after the declaration of the end of the outbreak you have had some flares in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone”.

Ebola virus may persist in some survivors’ body fluids, with potential to infect others. In at least one instance during this outbreak, relapse was observed, sparking a new chain of transmission which has taken several months to interrupt. At the individual level, people who have recovered from the Ebola virus may develop medical and psychological complications. Ebola survivors should be offered support when they return to their communities in order to care for any post- complications.

“If everything goes right, the official end of the outbreak will be declared on 12^th of April. So, we are starting the count-down”, Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall. “As you know, my main concern is still security, I talked about more than 1,700 security incidents during his outbreak and I have spent close to 10 months there, not in the city but in the villages. Security is a main issue, every day you can see in the news attacks around Beni and the number of civilians killed by the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) group and also attacks from the Mai Mai group”.

As a lesson learned and a recommendation for possible other outbreaks, Dr. Ibrahima Soce Fall attributes the immediate availability of the Ebola vaccine as a key part to the effective Ebola response in the DRC.

“The outbreak was confirmed on the 1^st of August in a very remote area. On the 8^th of August, we started vaccination, exactly a week after the declaration of the outbreak including everything we needed in terms of logistics. Remember that the vaccine needs to be kept under minus 80 degrees Celsius. You don’t have those conditions in villages, we have to deploy everything from Geneva and to start vaccinating the week after”.

WHO’s financial need for the Ebola Response for January to June 2020 is US $83 million. WHO now requires US$ 40 million to ensure continuity of activities.

Ebola DRC WHO

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