New Ebola cases dim hope of end to pandemic

What you need to know:

  • The DRC had been holding tight on hopes the epidemic would be declared over on April 12, after the last patient left hospital on February 17.

  •  The epidemic which began sometime in May 2018 ravaged the country’s North Kivu region killing 2264 people of the 3453 infected.

Hopes for an end to the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo were dashed on Friday evening after the World Health Organisation confirmed a new cases

The case found in a patient in North Kivu means the WHO will not declare the epidemic over by April 12 as earlier planned, despite the DRC going for nearly eight weeks without a case.

In a statement on Thursday, the World Health Organisation said its surveillance team had confirmed the cases in North Kivu.

“One new case of Ebola was confirmed today by surveillance & response teams in Northeastern DRC after 52 days without a case. The WHO remains as committed as ever to bringing this outbreak to an end.”

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Africa Regional Director said her team would be in the field to investigate why the new case arose.

The DRC had been holding tight on hopes the epidemic would be declared over on April 12, after the last patient left hospital on February 17.

 The epidemic which began sometime in May 2018 ravaged the country’s North Kivu region killing 2264 people of the 3453 infected by the haemorrhagic virus.

The announcement particularly came at a bad time for the country as cases of the novel coronavirus disease rose by the day in the country. By Friday, the country had reported 205 cases with some of the patients including close members of the cabinet of President Felix Tshisekedi. Kinshasa also reported 20 deaths, one of the highest fatality rates in sub-Sahara Africa, and 13 recoveries.

 Usually, the WHO declares an epidemic over after 44 consecutive days without a new case.