A few weeks ago, we gave you an overview of the 2014 Ebola crisis – including the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In the past week, DRC was declared free of Ebola. The virus killed 49 people there during a three-month outbreak, and has reportedly now been contained.
Ebola doesn’t have vaccinations, and there is no standard treatment, besides hospitalization, isolation, administration of fluids, and anti-viral medications.
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DR Congo declares itself Ebola free
The health minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo says his country is free of Ebola. Congo’s three-month outbreak killed nearly 50 people. The viral strain involved was different the one ravaging West Africa.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) declared itself free of Ebola on Saturday after a three-month outbreak of the viral disease claimed the lives of 49 people.
Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said no new cases had been registered since October 4.
He warned, however, that “the end of the epidemic … does not mean we are completely out of danger.”
“Like every other nation, the Democratic Republic of Congo remains threatened by the possible import of the Ebola virus disease raging in West Africa,” he added.
Viral strain differs
The outbreak raging in western Africa stems from the Zaire strain, the deadliest of the five known viral versions, which leaves body organs bleeding.
Zaire, now known as DRC, was where the world’s first known Ebola outbreak occurred in 1976. The disease takes its name from the DRC’s Ebola River.
The West Africa epidemic has killed over 5,000 people, according to figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday.
Liberia lifts state of emergency
On Thursday, Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ended a state of emergency – a sign that the situation could be improving in one of the countries hardest hit by the viral strain.
“I have informed the leadership of the national legislature that I will not seek an extension of the state of emergency,” Sirleaf announced.
He said authorities and officials were now able to “sustain our fight against the virus” without the additional emergency measures, imposed in early August.
“The fight against Ebola is [not] over,” Sirleaf emphasized.
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