Ebola 9th outbreak in DRC ends - what made a difference?

July 24, 2018 marked the end of the ninth outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The outbreak was contained due to the tireless efforts of local teams, the support of partners, the generosity of donors, and the effective leadership of the Ministry of Health.

Within hours of the outbreak being declared on 8 May, WHO released US$2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, deployed a team to augment capacity in the field, and activated an emergency incident management system. In total, more than 360 people were deployed by WHO to respond to the outbreak. During the response, traditional methods such as case investigation, contact tracing and providing care to the sick were combined with a new tool: an Ebola vaccine.

Looking to the future, WHO urges the DRC Government and the international community to build on the positive momentum generated by the quick containment of the Ebola outbreak to tackle other outbreaks the country is facing, such as cholera and polio.

More information about Ebola: http://www.who.int/ebola/en/