WHO chief announces five Ebola patient recoveries in DRC

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced positive developments in the fight against the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Following a meeting with DRC President Félix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, Tedros shared "two pieces of good news": the recovery of the first five Ebola patients and the construction of a new 60-bed treatment center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province and the outbreak's epicenter.

Tedros and Tshisekedi discussed national efforts to combat the epidemic caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus. The DRC's health authorities had previously presented four recovered Ebola patients at a ceremony attended by the WHO chief. Tedros also met with Congolese Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka and the accredited diplomatic corps, briefing them on his visit to Ituri and the WHO's support for the government's containment strategies.

WHO's support includes strengthening epidemiological surveillance, infection prevention and control, and patient care, exemplified by the newly inaugurated treatment center. Tedros appealed to the international community for necessary support, emphasizing the DRC's leadership in the response and framing the crisis as an opportunity to bolster the health system.

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I have two good news: the recovery of the first five Ebola patients and the construction of a treatment center with 60 beds in Bunia.

He urged countries not to impose travel restrictions on the DRC, stressing that such measures could impede the delivery of essential health and humanitarian assistance needed to control the outbreak rapidly. "Solidarity is our best defense against this outbreak," Tedros concluded his visit, which began on May 28.

The African Union's public health agency reported 246 "suspected deaths" and 1,077 "suspected cases" in the DRC from the 17th Ebola epidemic since the virus was first detected in 1976. The virus has also spread to neighboring Uganda, with nine confirmed infections and one death from an imported case. The Bundibugyo strain has a fatality rate of 30% to 50%, and no authorized vaccine or specific treatment is available, according to the WHO, which considers the risk of an outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa "high."

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Solidarity is our best defense against this outbreak.