Multidisciplinary teams in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are faced with numerous challenges as they respond to an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the remote, forested regions in the northern part of the country. WHO and other partner agencies led by the Ministry of Health have secured and set up a base to coordinate their work and end the outbreak as quickly and as safely as possible.

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Jeudi 1er juin 2017, Mme Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Directreur Général des Relations Extérieures et de la Coopération, a ouvert la réunion organisée par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé sur l’élimination du paludisme au Sahel, en présence du Dr Magda Robalo, Directrice du groupe des maladies transmissibles au Bureau régional de l'OMS en Afriqueet du Dr Kesete Admasu, Directeur exécutif du Secrétariat du partenariat « Roll Back Malaria ».

Liberia, 9 June 2016 – Today the World Health Organization (WHO) declares the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia. This announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in Liberia tested negative for the disease for the second time. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to ensure that any new cases are identified quickly and contained before spreading.

WHO and Ministry of Health teams in Guinea and Liberia have established epidemiological links between new Ebola cases in Liberia and a current flare-up of Ebola in neighbouring Guinea following intensified case investigations and contact tracing.

Over a month has passed since Ebola transmission ceased in Liberia. This hard-fought achievement is still being celebrated across the country, where nearly 11,000 people became infected with the virus and 4,800 died. Liberia is still urging communities not to let their guard down until Ebola is gone from the region. They are working closely with WHO and other partners to keep Ebola from re-emerging.

Laboratory testing of samples is essential to rapidly assess the scope and spread of any Ebola outbreak. Since the major outbreak in West Africa in 2014, an increasing number of diagnostic tools have become available to perform rapid initial testing of samples. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is using these new tools, as well as classic ones, to respond to an ongoing outbreak of the virus in a very remote area of the north east of the country.

LIKATI: First joint visit of the Minister of Health and the WHO Representative to the epicentre of the Ebola virus disease outbreak.
KINSHASA, 17 May 2017: From 17 to 18 May 2017, Dr Oly Ilunga Kalenga, Minister of Public Health, and Dr Allarangar Yokouidé, WHO Representative in the DRC, will carry out a first visit to assess the Ebola outbreak that has been reported in Nambwa, epicentre of the disease, in the Likati health district, Bas-Uélé Province, located over 1400 km from Kinshasa, to the north of the DRC.

WHO is working with the Ebola-affected countries in developing plans and strategies for the safe reactivation of essential health services and longer term health system functions.
The 2014 Ebola outbreak shone a light on fragile health systems in West Africa. The severity of the outbreak was caused in large part by the weakness of the health systems, which were stretched to function well beyond their limited capacity. The delivery of services was severely disrupted. In Liberia, the epidemic contributed to a 61% decline in outpatient visits.

In Guinea, the Ebola outbreak continues and resources are needed to end the epidemic. When testing and treatment options are too far away, people are less willing to cooperate. Mariam's* case illustrates this problem. As a WHO team discussed her symptoms, she listened and showed no signs of distress. When she was told she must go to Conakry – over 3 hours away – she began to sob and her family refused to send her.

More than 11 000 people in Guinea participated in a WHO-led trial to develop the world’s first vaccine against Ebola virus disease. The ground-breaking trial, which ended in January 2016, resulted in a vaccine that is highly protective against the deadly virus. The Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan and the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti visited some of the communities who participated in the vaccine trial in the city of Conakry.