Five people infected with a rare strain of Ebola have recovered in eastern Congo, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday, offering a sign of progress as health officials race to contain an outbreak that has spread across parts of Congo and into neighboring Uganda. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the recoveries during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and epicenter of the outbreak. “Four people will be discharged today, and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” Tedros said, emphasizing that recovery is possible even though there is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus behind the outbreak.
An additional patient’s recovery was announced on Friday, the first documented recovery from the Bundibugyo strain.
The recoveries come as health authorities continue to grapple with a rapidly expanding outbreak that was confirmed in mid-May and later declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO.
According to the WHO, Congo has reported 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak. The agency has also recorded more than 130 confirmed cases and at least 18 deaths among confirmed infections in Congo and Uganda.
