Five patients infected with the rare Ebola virus have recovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday at the inauguration of a new treatment center in the eastern city of Bunia.Speaking at a hospital in Ituri province, the center of the current outbreak, Tedros said four patients would be discharged from hospital on Sunday and another had been discharged two days ago.The Associated Press quoted Tedros as saying: “Four people were discharged from the hospital today, and one person was discharged the day before yesterday.”“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments, but that doesn’t mean people can’t recover from Ebola,” he added.The World Health Organization said on Friday that a patient has recovered from the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. The organization said this was the first documented recovery of a confirmed patient in Bundibugyo during the ongoing outbreak.According to the latest official data cited by the World Health Organization, there have been 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Meanwhile, Congo’s neighboring country, Uganda, has nine confirmed cases and one death, the Ministry of Health said.The news comes as aid agencies warn that the outbreak is spreading faster than the response. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on Saturday for expanded testing, faster deployment of aid workers and uninterrupted access to medical supplies.Health workers are also facing growing resistance in some communities, where anger over strict burial protocols for Ebola victims has led to at least three attacks on health facilities.At the opening, Tedros urged residents to seek medical attention immediately if they develop symptoms.“If you come to a health facility with symptoms you can get support and recover, so the key is to come forward early and get the necessary support,” he said.“We can stop Ebola and anyone who gets Ebola can recover. But the rules… this is everyone’s business and every citizen should be involved,” Tedros added.“The last message we want to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, incident manager at Congo’s National Institute of Public Health, said at the inauguration of the new treatment centre.
