BUNIA, Congo (AP) — At least 282 cases of Ebola disease have been confirmed in Congo's growing outbreak, the central African nation says, as more joyful stories from recovered medical workers emerge. One nurse spoke of his "indescribable joy" at beating the illness.
The outbreak remains focused in eastern Ituri province, where 264 cases have been confirmed, the health ministry said. Congo has reported more than 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo virus, the species of Ebola that was confirmed weeks after the outbreak quietly began. There is no approved medicine to treat it, or vaccine.
The disease outbreak has killed 42 people in Congo and one person in neighboring Uganda, according to health authorities in both countries.
The outbreak has spread to 22 health zones across three eastern provinces in Congo, government data shows, even as the World Health Organization has sought to highlight signs of progress, like new deliveries of supplies to deeply under-resourced health centers.
Congo's health ministry says the main challenges in containing the outbreak in the remote region include early detection and rapid isolation of cases, rigorous contact tracing, safe and dignified burials and strengthening infection prevention and control in health facilities.
