The African Union (AU) says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is under control.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control reports that its medical experts on the ground are still working with the DRC government to ensure that the cases remain minimal.
So far 28 people have died in the outbreak that was declared in May this year.
In the North-western city of Mbandaka in the DRC, medical experts work hard to prevent the further spread of Ebola. This is the 9th outbreak of the deadly disease in 40 years.
The Africa Centre for Disease Control that has been monitoring the situation says of the 62 people who contracted the virus, 28 have died.
“It’s fair to say that we can express some cautious optimism that the situation is stabilizing, but we are very cautious. Remember, Ebola virus outbreak depends on just one case so one case can very quickly become spread very quickly there. So we are pleased with where we are with respect to the new cases that we are receiving,” says Director of Africa Center For Disease Control, Dr. John Nkengasong.
According to World Health Organization the last confirmed case of Ebola in the DRC was on 6 June.
Since then, all probable and suspect cases have been declared negative. The Director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control recommends that more be done to empower the country’s medical system in preparation for future outbreaks.
“The national public health institute of that country should be able to respond to it in a timely fashion, we cannot be running into a country each time and responding and going out. Nothing tells us that when this outbreak is over in two months that another outbreak will not occur in Lubumbashi; and then what do we do? We rush back in and start doing that,” says Director of Africa Centre for Disease Control, Dr John Nkengasong.
The DRC government authorized the World Health Organization to use the VSV vaccine, an experimental drug that was tried successfully in Guinea in 2015. The last 161 people to have to have been exposed to the Ebola virus will finish their mandatory follow-up period on 27 June. They are under strict observation to rule out any infection.
Through the work of the Africa Centre for Disease control, the continent’s response to the DRC outbreak has been swifter than in 2014 when Ebola outbreak hit countries in West Africa that were unprepared for such an outbreak leading to the death of 11 000 people.
