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The country has recorded fourteen Ebola epidemics since 1976, including six since 2018. Phew relief from the health authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)! This Central African country declared, this Monday, July 4, 2022, the end of the Ebola epidemic which began less than three months ago in Mbandaka, the capital of the Province of Equateur (North-West ). It was the third outbreak in the province since 2018 and the 14th in the country, reports the World Health Organization (WHO). With greater experience in controlling Ebola, national emergency teams supported by WHO and its partners implemented a rapid response as soon as the outbreak was declared on April 23, 2022. , there have been four confirmed cases and one probable case, all of whom have died. During the previous outbreak in Equateur Province, which lasted from June to November 2020, there were 130 confirmed cases and 55 deaths,” WHO explains. “Thanks to a strong response from national authorities, this outbreak was quickly brought to an end with limited transmission of the virus,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, adding: Key lessons have been learned from previous outbreaks and put into practice to design and deploy an even more effective Ebola response. » The epidemic which has just ended has seen a total of 2,104 people vaccinated, among which 302 contact persons 1,307 frontline workers, In order to facilitate the deployment of vaccination, an ultra-low temperature cold chain refrigerator was installed in Mbandaka, which made it possible to keep the doses of the vaccine locally and safely, as well as to make them available efficiently. According to Dr Moeti, Africa is seeing a rise in cases of Ebola and other infectious diseases that are jumping from animals to humans and affecting large urban areas,” said Dr Moeti. “We need to be even more vigilant to make sure we detect cases quickly. The response to this outbreak shows that by strengthening preparedness, surveillance and rapid case detection, we can stay one step ahead,” she continued. Although the outbreak has been declared over in Mbandaka, health authorities continue surveillance activities and stand ready to respond quickly to any outbreak. It is not uncommon for sporadic cases to emerge following an outbreak.

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