Last Ebola patient leaves hospital in DR Congo

Health workers danced and cheered as the last Ebola patient in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo left hospital this week.

The scene took place in Beni, North Kivu, eastern DRC, which was one of the epicentres of a devastating 18-month outbreak that killed more than 2,200 people and infected more than 3,400.

"Good news from DRC – no new Ebola infections in the last two weeks and all currently confirmed patients have completed treatment," tweeted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation.

“This is very encouraging, but the outbreak is not over and we are still in full response mode.”

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Ebola is a deadly virus that causes muscle pain, headaches, vomiting, bleeding from orifices and possible death from organ failure or dehydration. It is transmitted through bodily fluids.

Unlike the Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, which killed more than 11,000 people, medical developments enabled hundreds of thousands of Congolese people to be vaccinated against Ebola during this outbreak.

Last month, a newly licensed injectable vaccine – Ervebo – was hailed as a “milestone”, with 97.5 per cent efficacy, according to preliminary studies.

Even when used on someone who is already infected, the United Nations said it reduced their chances of dying. However, this outbreak was complicated by ongoing conflict in the region, where there are dozens of armed groups and a lot of hostility towards international aid workers and the government.

Caution still needed

Robert Ghosn, the Ebola response head of operations for the International Federation of the Red Cross, said the latest news was "far from being the end of the story", though of course he's happy.

"To be very honest [in] DRC, we haven't had a lot of good news so it's definitely something to celebrate but we also have to be cautious," he said on the phone from Goma, eastern DRC.

“It’s not the end of the outbreak, it’s a sign we’re going in the right direction. Now we need to make sure that no new cases occur in the next 42 days. A new countdown is starting in which we have to work hard in the communities to make sure that even if there is a slightest risk, we really have to act quickly.”

He said it was important to remain vigilant and for aid workers to keep engaging with communities across eastern DR Congo. "The fact that we are where we are today is really thanks to the communities who changed behaviours," he said.

Meanwhile, attention is turning to the Covid-19 coronavirus and the impact it could have across the African continent, where healthcare systems are weak in many countries.

There are now 12 cases of coronavirus in Africa, though most of them are in north Africa and none is near the DRC.

Mr Ghosn said all the measures put in place during the Ebola response should help with combatting other diseases too, including measles, cholera and the coronavirus. “The safe measures that should be taken for a lot of diseases are actually the same.”