Reuters
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
Four nurses who were being treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo after recovering from the disease, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.
More recoveries are expected, especially when people are diagnosed early and able to access care, and as the response to the outbreak intensifies.
A laboratory worker had also recovered earlier this week, the agency said, bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to five. However, suspected cases are being looked into in Brazil and Italy tied to travel to affected nations.
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has increased to 282, with 42 deaths, after 19 new positive test results were recorded, according to data distributed by the communications ministry.
Earlier this month the WHO declared the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo version of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, although it does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while on a Saturday visit to Bunia — the capital of the eastern Congolese province of Ituri — noted that although there currently is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, “it is not without hope,” as it can be survived with good medical care.
The outbreak — the 17th in Congo and the third-largest since Ebola was discovered half a century ago — is outpacing the global response, which got off to a late start.
