5 Ebola patients have recovered from rare strain, WHO chief says

The World Health Organization chief said five people have now recovered from a rare type of Ebola, underscoring the importance of seeking care for symptoms of the disease. 

Despite the lack of an approved treatment or vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus, which is behind the current Ebola outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said these five cases exemplify that recovery from the illness is still possible. The WHO had said Friday that one patient recovered from the Bundibugyo virus, marking the first documented recovery of a person with a confirmed case since this outbreak began.

“Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” Tedros said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri in eastern Congo, which is at the center of the current outbreak.

“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,” he added.

At least 906 suspected cases of the virus and 223 deaths, among the suspected cases, have been reported in Congo, according to the WHO. There 134 confirmed cases and 18 deaths among the confirmed cases in Congo and neighboring Uganda, the health agency said. Uganda has confirmed nine cases and one death, the Ugandan Health Ministry said Friday.

The virus continues to spread faster than the response despite better-organized health facilities and new aid arrivals, Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said Saturday, calling for the immediate expansion of testing, faster deployment of aid workers and sustained access for medical supplies.

The dangers faced by health workers have been heightened by anger among residents over the stringent medical protocols for handling the victims’ bodies, which clash with local burial rites. Residents have launched at least three attacks against health centers.

Tedros stressed the importance of involving the community in the outbreak response during the opening of the new treatment center on Sunday.

“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover, so the key is to come forward as early as possible and to get the necessary support,” the WHO chief said.

“We can stop this Ebola and anyone who has it can also recover. But the rule … is this thing is everybody’s business and every citizen should be involved,” he added.

Attacks in Ituri by the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group allied with the Islamic State group, and a coalition of ethnic militias have also hindered the response.

The illness also has been reported in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu. The rebels have reported two cases.

“The final message we would like to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, Incident Manager at Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, said during the inauguration on Sunday.

“With the symptomatic treatment that we are currently providing, we are seeing patients recover,” Akilimali added.

“We truly have hope. The virus here is not as complicated as those we have dealt with in the past, and with the support of all our partners, we believe we will be able to bring this outbreak under control as quickly as possible,” said Davin Ambitapio, another doctor at the treatment center.