The second-largest Ebola outbreak on record is over after nearly two years and more than 2 200 deaths, Democratic Republic of Congo said on Thursday, even as a separate flare-up of the virus continued elsewhere in the country.
Despite effective vaccines and treatments that dramatically boosted survival rates when administered early, the outbreak dragged on as first responders struggled to gain access to virus hotspots in Congo's restive eastern borderlands.
As that outbreak neared its end, another one was declared on June 1 in the western city of Mbandaka, more than 1 000 km away.
There were 3 463 cases confirmed and probable cases recorded over the course of the outbreak in eastern Congo, including 2 277 deaths, Longondo said.
The largest Ebola outbreak occurred in West Africa from 2013-2016, when more than 11 300 people died from the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
