The outbreak, declared on September 4 in the Bulape health zone in Congo's Kasai province, was the country's first since 2022. Out of 64 cases, 45 people died and 19 recovered, according to the Congolese health ministry.

From the early days of the outbreak, Congo used a revamped national surveillance system to enable authorities to rapidly map the affected area and contain transmission.

There have been no new cases since September 25, and the last Ebola patient was discharged on October 19. Two maximum incubation periods of 21 days each must pass without the detection of a new case before an outbreak can be declared officially over, according to World Health Organization regulations. 

The Ebola virus, a rare but often fatal illness in humans, is transmitted through contact with blood or other bodily fluids and causes symptoms that include fever, body aches, and diarrhea.