Dancing at the clinic gates

Health workers and residents danced and sang outside an Ebola treatment centre in Mongbwalu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, as its last remaining patients were discharged. Footage showed a woman dancing as she left the facility, with staff in protective clothing celebrating alongside her. The centre is run by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières, known as MSF.

A milestone, not the end of the outbreak

MSF said it was the first time since the outbreak was declared in May that the Mongbwalu centre had no confirmed Ebola patients under treatment. That distinction matters: the discharge does not mean the wider outbreak has ended, and new cases can still emerge elsewhere. Health authorities reported on 27 October that the outbreak had passed 10,000 confirmed cases, most of them in Congo, with nearly half of those confirmed patients having died.

A long and difficult response

The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, was declared on 15 May after cases were identified in Ituri province, where the response began. It has since spread to 66 health zones across eight provinces, and responders have described overwhelmed centres, community mistrust and strikes over unpaid wages. At least 2,600 patients have recovered in Congo, and World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said every life saved was worth celebrating, even though the outbreak is far from over.

Sources: The Eastleigh Voice | Breaking Africa News (MSF report) | Associated Press via MedicalXpress