An outbreak of Ebola in the DRC has been contained. What went right this time?

The World Health Organisation recently declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By the time the outbreak was contained, eight people had been infected. Four survived. The first patient diagnosed in the outbreak (the index case) – a middle aged man who died on his way to hospital – got ill in April. It’s not clear how he became infected. But those who helped transport him to the hospital also became sick. This outbreak had the second lowest number of patients among all the eight Ebola outbreaks in DRC since 1976. The last one in 2014 lasted for three months and three quarters of the 66 people diagnosed with the disease died. The outbreak was traced back to a pregnant woman who had slaughtered a monkey brought home by her husband. The disease spread when she underwent a traditional surgical operation after becoming ill.