Editor’s Note: The World Health Organization declared the North Kivu Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—the second largest on record—to be over on June 25, following reports of a new case in April. Another outbreak was declared in early June when a cluster of cases cropped up in the country’s Équateur Province, but the WHO declared that outbreak over on November 18.
While the world has been gripped by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the second-largest Ebola outbreak in history finally may be winding to a close.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported the first cases in what came to be known as the Kivu outbreak in August 2018. So far, the event has led to about 3,453 cases and 2,273 deaths. But no new Ebola cases have been reported in the DRC since February 17, and if that situation holds, the World Health Organization plans to declare the end of the outbreak on April 12.
Like the new coronavirus, Ebola is a zoonotic virus, which means it can pass from animals to people. However, Ebola is a
DON'T MISS THE REST OF THIS STORY!
Create a free account to continue and get unlimited access to hundreds of Nat Geo articles, plus newsletters.
