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DR Congo Declares Latest Ebola Outbreak Over — Transmission 'Broken' After Emergency Response

The Democratic Republic of Congo has declared its latest Ebola outbreak over after recording 53 confirmed cases and at least 34 confirmed deaths, with 11 additional suspected fatalities likely bringing the toll to 45. Officials said surveillance and response efforts, including a mid-September vaccination campaign supported by 45,000 extra vaccine doses from the ICG, helped interrupt transmission. The outbreak began on 20 August in Kasai province and presented significant logistical challenges due to remote terrain and limited transport infrastructure. Health authorities and international partners say the chain of transmission appears to have been broken.

03:12 AM, 12/02/2025Health
DR Congo Declares Latest Ebola Outbreak Over — Transmission 'Broken' After Emergency Response

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced on Monday that the most recent Ebola outbreak has ended after a focused response that curtailed transmission in the affected area.

Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi, head of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), said the outbreak had "effectively ended," reporting 53 laboratory-confirmed cases with 34 confirmed deaths. An additional 11 deaths are suspected to be linked to the virus, bringing the likely total to 45 fatalities.

Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba, speaking at an official ceremony in Kinshasa attended by representatives from the World Health Organization and Africa CDC, said all available evidence "attests that the chain of transmission of the virus has been broken."

Operational challenges and response

Officials and aid groups highlighted the difficulties of responding in the affected region, which is characterised by extreme isolation, impassable roads, harsh weather and limited access to essential services. Emmanuel Lampaert, the DRC representative for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said those conditions made surveillance, patient transport and vaccination campaigns especially challenging.

The outbreak was linked to an index case identified on 20 August in Kasai province, when a 34-year-old pregnant woman sought medical care. Authorities officially declared the outbreak in early September and launched a vaccination campaign in mid-September to protect contacts and frontline workers.

To bolster the response, the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision released an additional 45,000 doses of Ebola vaccine to the DRC. The injections were sent amid logistical constraints in a country roughly four times the size of France with limited transport infrastructure.

What you need to know about Ebola

Ebola is transmitted between people through direct contact with bodily fluids. Common symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, bleeding. The virus is not contagious until symptoms appear, after an incubation period that ranges from two to 21 days.

The DRC has experienced 16 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976. The deadliest recent episode occurred between 2018 and 2020, when roughly 3,500 people were infected and nearly 2,300 died.

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