2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equateur Province

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On November 18, 2020, the DRC Ministry of Health and WHO declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in Equateur Province. Visit the Ebola Outbreak section for information on past Ebola outbreaks.

Overview

On June 1, 2020, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared the 11th outbreak of Ebola virus disease (Ebola) in DRC external iconfollowing the deaths of four family members in Mbandaka, Equateur Province, between May 18 and May 30. Additional cases were confirmed in multiple health zones in western DRC. The Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB) in Kinshasa confirmed Ebola virus, species Zaire ebolavirus, in this outbreak.

Laboratory sequencing showed that most cases in this outbreak were the result of a new spillover event (i.e. a new introduction of the virus into the community from an animal reservoir) followed by person-to-person spread. Sequencing efforts also identified a few cases which appeared to be linked to the prior Equateur Province outbreak in 2018, possibly due to sexual transmission or relapse of a survivor.

On November 18, 2020, after reaching 42 days (two incubation periods) with no new cases after the last survivor tested negative and was released from the Ebola treatment center, the DRC Ministry of Health and WHO announced the outbreak was over. In total, 130 cases (probable and confirmed) and 55 deaths were reported. The outbreak will be followed by 90 days of additional Ebola surveillance to ensure that any new cases are quickly detected and responded to.

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Page last reviewed: November 18, 2020
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP), Viral Special Pathogens Branch (VSPB)