The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi announced on Monday that the northeastern parts of the country were officially Ebola free.

The minister was speaking in Lubumbashi in the Southeast Katanga province at the end of the 42 days monitoring period which was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and during which, no new case of Ebola was reported.

Numbi said the disease which was first reported on Aug. 17 in Isiro and Viadama health zones, left 34 people dead out of the 62 cases that were reported.

"The Congolese government would like to thank the friendly countries that supported us to fight off the disease," the minister said.

Training for medical officers charged with the responsibility of monitoring the disease in the high risk areas of Northeastern DR Congo is scheduled to take place before Dec. 6.

In DR Congo, an Ebola epidemic had earlier broken out between 1976-1977 in Equateur province, in 1995 in Bandundu province, in 1999-2000 in Orientale province and in 2007-2008 in Kasai Occidental province.

Ebola is a deadly virus that causes a form of hemorrhagic fever. The virus which is often fatal, may be transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood and secretions. Endi

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