Eastern DRC Ebola Outbreak Officially Ends, WHO Urges Vigilance; Concerns Grow About Équateur Province Outbreak, COVID-19, Other Health Challenges In Country

Devex: While Ebola outbreak ends in eastern DRC, WHO says no room for complacency
“After almost two years, the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is finally over. But the continuing outbreak in Équateur province and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continue to pose threats to health security in the country, region, and the rest of the world. … Response to the [Ebola] outbreak was characterized from the start by numerous challenges and controversies, and it had been disrupted several times because of conflict and violence. The World Health Organization had intended to declare the end of the region’s outbreak in April, but this was halted after new cases were reported just a few days before the scheduled announcement…” (Ravelo, 6/25).

SciDev.Net: New strain fears as fresh Ebola outbreak emerges
“Scientists fear a new Ebola strain might emerge in the Democratic Republic of Congo if two versions of the disease mix together to form a new, potentially deadlier version. Ebola is a highly contagious infectious disease that has a fatality fate of around 50 percent. There have been multiple outbreaks across Africa in the past decade. The DRC government [on Thursday] declared an end to the eastern outbreak — the tenth in the country — but World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned there was ‘still potential for flare-ups’ of this strain, calling for rapid response teams to remain in place…” (Abega/Broom, 6/25).

Additional coverage of the end to the Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is available from New Humanitarian, NPR, U.N. News, VOA News, and Wall Street Journal.

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