On Tuesday, 3rd of March, the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded tremendous success in its fight against Ebola with the release of a video showing the last Ebola patient leaving the treatment centre Tuesday morning.
The patient identified as Masiko is seen walking out with a doctor hand in hand, with their hands in the air with the people around them cheering as they walked out of the treatment centre in the north-eastern town of Beni. Doctors, nurses and other health workers dressed in green scrubs are seen celebrating.
Although the patient has been declared virus-free, the 46 people who had come in contact with the patient are under strict observation. The Ebola response team is in place to ensure that any new detected case is treated quickly.
Surveillance, pathogen detection and clinical management are ongoing, including validating alerts, monitoring the remaining contacts, supporting rapid diagnostics of suspected cases and working with community members to strengthen surveillance on deaths in the communities.
“I applaud the tireless efforts that have been made to respond to this outbreak and I’m truly encouraged by the news that the last Ebola patient has left the treatment centre healthy,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “It is not yet the end of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We must stay vigilant in the coming weeks and beyond.”
On the 1st of August 2018, DRC experienced its second-largest Ebola outbreak in history. According to Congolese officials, the country recorded over 3,300 cases of Ebola and a 65 percent death rate. Data from the United State (U.S) Centres for Disease Control and Prevention show that in West Africa, there were 28,652 Ebola-infected people and 11,325 deaths.
The WHO declared the Ebola outbreak as a global health emergency, delineating it as deadlier than the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa due to the fact that the region is an active war zone. Other contributing factors were political instability in the region, attacks on health workers, a highly mobile population, community mistrust and misinformation.
With the help of experimental vaccines, financial support from international organizations and individuals, the fight against Ebola in DRC is almost over. Tuesday marks the 14th day without any new confirmed Ebola cases in the country, according to Congolese health officials.
However, after 42 days of observation with no case of Ebola in the country with the last reported tested negative, DRC can then be declared an Ebola-free state.
By Faith Ikade.
