Ebola in DRC: No new cases in nearly 3 weeks, Last patient in Beni discharged

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

On Tuesday, UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported that the last patient at the Beni Ebola Treatment Centre has tested negative twice for the virus, recovered and was released to go home.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said no new cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported since 17 February, nearly three weeks ago.

While an important milestone in the outbreak, WHO cautions there is still a high risk of re-emergence of EVD.

The WHO Regional Office in Africa puts the outbreak total at 3,444 cases and 2,264 deaths (overall case fatality ratio 66%) since the outbreak started in August 2018.

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WHO reports since the beginning of the outbreak, 1160 people have recovered from EVD. This includes 50 (4%) infants under 1-year-old, 55 (5%) children aged 1 to 4 years old, 145 (13%) children aged 5 to 17, and 910 (78%) adults aged 18 years or older. Of the total survivors, 641 (55%) are female, including eight women that were pregnant at the time of EVD infection, and survived with a viable foetus. To ensure proper pregnancy follow-up and safe delivery, WHO supported the implementation of dedicated care for these women. This is the first time women who were pregnant while sick with EVD have recovered with healthy babies and is a major breakthrough in supporting pregnant women who recovered from EVD.