Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ebola virus disease outbreak, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2021
The 12th outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) lasted from 7 February 2021 to 3 May 2021 when it was declared over, just under three months after it began.
The North Kivu province in the eastern region of the DRC was the affected region, where a large outbreak had previously occurred between 2018 and 2020. This most recent outbreak culminated in 12 EVD cases including six deaths.
- Ebola outbreaks in the DRC are recurrent as the virus is present in an animal reservoir in many parts of the country. A high level of surveillance and follow-up of survivors is essential to detect and interrupt transmission early on. Response measures might be challenging amid the other outbreaks in the country.
