WHO Confirms First Ebola Patient Recovery in DR Congo Outbreak

By Maryanne Awuya

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed the first recovery of a laboratory-confirmed Ebola patient in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), offering a rare sign of hope amid the escalating health crisis.

WHO officials disclosed on Friday that the recovered patient was discharged from a treatment centre on May 27 after testing negative twice for the virus.

“The DRC has said that on May 27, a patient recovered and left the hospital and has been discharged into the community,” WHO technical officer on viral haemorrhagic fevers, Anais Legand, told reporters.

She described it as the first officially confirmed recovery since the outbreak was declared on May 15, although health officials believe other unconfirmed recoveries may have occurred among suspected cases.

“This is the first one” to be discharged from a care centre “following two negative tests,” she said.

The development came as WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in Kinshasa to support response efforts against the outbreak, which has continued to spread across eastern DR Congo and neighbouring Uganda.

Tedros is expected to travel to Ituri Province, the epicentre of the outbreak, where insecurity, poor healthcare access and overcrowded displacement camps have complicated containment efforts.

Persecondnews reports that the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the outbreak has so far recorded at least 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths since it was officially declared.

WHO data showed there have been 125 confirmed Ebola cases and more than 900 suspected infections, with 17 confirmed deaths and 223 suspected fatalities.

The outbreak is being driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

Health officials said the strain can record fatality rates of up to 50 per cent, although the current outbreak appears to have a lower death rate of below 25 per cent among confirmed cases.

Legand stressed that early access to treatment significantly improves survival chances and expressed optimism that more patients would recover as response efforts intensify.

The outbreak has already spread to Uganda, where seven confirmed cases, including one death, have been reported.

Authorities remain concerned about the risk of further transmission in overcrowded displacement camps across eastern Congo, where millions displaced by years of armed conflict live in poor sanitary conditions.

Persecondnews also reports that WHO advisory groups recommended clinical trials for potential vaccines and treatments that could help tackle the Bundibugyo strain as global health agencies intensify efforts to contain the outbreak.