Johannesburg, 16 December 2021 (dpa/MIA) – The second outbreak of the Ebola disease this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo has officially been declared over, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The eastern province of North Kivu, where the first case was reported on October 8, was affected by the outbreak. A total of 11 people fell ill with Ebola, while a further three were suspected cases. Six of the patients died of the disease. A prior outbreak in North Kivu had been officially declared over in May. The cases occurred near the town of Beni, where an Ebola outbreak had already occurred from 2018 to 2020. During that outbreak, a total of nearly 3,500 cases were detected and 2,299 people died. Beni is a commercial hub in the region with close links to neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda. Ebola infection usually leads to high fever and internal bleeding, and is life-threatening. In 2014 and 2015, the largest-ever outbreak of the disease took place in West Africa with more than 11,000 deaths.