Ebola

In 2017, an Ebola outbreak was detected in Bas-Uélé province of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ebola is endemic to the DRC and it was the country’s eighth outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease since the discovery of the virus in the country in 1976.  This outbreak was quickly contained thanks to joint efforts by the Government of DRC, WHO and many different partners.

The effective response to this outbreak was achieved through the timely alert by local authorities of suspect cases, immediate testing of blood samples due to strengthened national laboratory capacity, the early announcement of the outbreak by the government, rapid response activities by local and national health authorities with the robust support of international partners, and speedy access to flexible funding. Coordination support on the ground by WHO Health Emergencies Programme was critical and an Incident Management System was set up within 24 hours of the outbreak being announced. WHO deployed more than 50 experts to work closely with government and partners.

With partners, WHO continues to support the Government of DRC to ensure that survivors have access to medical care, strengthen the health system and improve healthcare delivery and preparedness at all levels. 

Disease outbreak news - start of the outbreak - end of the outbreak