The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that the 2018 Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is over.
Thursday marked the 42nd day the last survivor of the virus tested negative, the CDC said in a news release.
“The international effort to bring an end to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been a true partnership between CDC, the Ministry of Health, WHO and U.S. government partners,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD in the statement. “CDC will continue the important work of confronting Ebola and other global disease threats with the mission to improve the human condition."
The outbreak was first declared back on August 1, 2018, in North Kivu, the World Health Organization said.
Surveillance will continue for at least six months after the outbreak ends, the CDC said.
The CDC said that the DRC is dealing with a fresh Ebola outbreak in the Equateur Province, which occurred back on June 1.
According to the WHO, over 11,000 people died from the virus between 2014-2016 in West Africa.
