DRC discharges Ebola patient amid celebrations

An hospitalized Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been discharged, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday.

In a tweet, WHO congratulated all partners involved in the Ebola response activities in the country. The Ebola survivor Masika Mawasu Semida thanked health workers upon her discharge from the treatment centre in Beni.

A cheerful Masika Mawasu Semida told reporters: “I say thank you, God bless them (responders, medical teams). Those who say that Ebola doesn’t exist are wrong, because I’ve suffered from it.”

Dr Mory Keita, WHO spokesman in Beni said the countdown was now on for the awaited end of the epidemic. “Once this case is released, once they are cured, we can now count the 42 days before we can declare the end of the epidemic.”

WHO Regional Director Dr Mathsidiso Moeti in a Tweet said she was “cautiously optimistic” that the epidemic will soon end, as there have been no confirmed cases of Ebola in the last two weeks and only two in the last 21 days.

The recent Ebola outbreak in DR Congo since it was declared in August 2018 has left more than 2,200 people dead, with 3,310 cases reported.