The last patient being treated for Ebola in the D.R. Congo has been discharged, according to a recently released statement from the World Health Organization.
The former patient, identified as Semida Masika, was presented with her survivor’s certificate after a small ceremony in the city of Beni on Tuesday.
“As I am the last survivor, I say thank you very much and praise be to God,” said Semida.
The event is a significant milestone in the attempt to contain the Ebola outbreak in eastern D.R. Congo, where it has been raging since August 2018.
Technically, the outbreak cannot yet be declared over, as 42 days, or double the length of Ebola’s incubation period, must pass without a new case being reported. It’s been 14 days since the last case in D.R. Congo.
Furthermore, there are 46 individuals who had come into contact with Semida who are currently under observation.
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the D.R. Congo is Congo’s 10th outbreak, but the largest in terms of fatalities. It has so far claimed more than 2,264 lives.
The outbreak emerged while Congo was headed to the 2018 General elections; consequently, the residents of the Province of North Kivu were temporarily disenfranchised to avert the possibility of spreading Ebola at polling stations.
The humanitarian and security challenges in North Kivu, where rebels, militias and terrorist groups including the ADF are present, has made containing the outbreak quite challenging; by March 2019 for instance, five Ebola treatment centers had been attacked.
Members of these outlawed groups could also be sick and keeping the transmission cycle going on.
“Because of the complex security environment, Ebola transmission outside of groups currently under monitoring cannot be ruled out,” said Tarik Jasarevic, the WHO spokesman. “A single case could reignite the epidemic.”
Africa Global News Publication
