Published on: 2026-06-01
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Four healthcare workers infected with the Ebola virus in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – three male nurses and one female nurse – have been discharged from the hospital. This was reported by the World Health Organization. All four have fully recovered from the serious illness.
“It is expected that the number of recovered will increase – especially with early diagnosis and timely access to medical care, as well as activation of response measures to the outbreak,” the WHO reported on Sunday.
According to the agency, so far five people have recovered from the disease. The fifth was a laboratory employee who was discharged last Thursday.
Measures to combat Ebola
The international community under the auspices of the UN is currently increasing measures to combat the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus. The situation is complicated by the fact that there is still no certified vaccine or medicine for this strain, and the disease itself has been characterized by the WHO as “an ailment by which people become infected when caring for the sick.”
As of Sunday, 210 confirmed cases of infection have been registered in the country, 17 people have died. About 350 more cases are under investigation. In total, 16 medical workers have fallen ill with Ebola during this outbreak in the DRC. Another patient—a US citizen who treated the sick in the DRC—is currently continuing treatment in Germany.
The main measures to combat the disease include laboratory studies, epidemiological surveillance, prevention and control of infection spread, work with the local population, and resource mobilization.
In the city of Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, which is considered the epicenter of the outbreak, the WHO has repaired the Ebola Treatment Center. It is currently designed for 24 beds with the possibility of expansion to 60 places. In addition, the WHO is equipping an additional building with 42 more beds.
The fight against the outbreak severely complicates the dire humanitarian situation in the resource-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to years of armed conflict, 1.2 million people in just one province, Ituri, are in need of humanitarian aid.
In addition to Ituri, the main centers of Ebola transmission are also concentrated in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
Promising treatment methods
Despite the absence of an approved vaccine or drug specifically against the Bundibugyo virus, WHO advisory groups have named several vaccines and therapeutic agents as “quite promising.” They may be included in the priority list for clinical trials.
VOZ is currently cooperating with the ministries of health of DRC and Uganda to launch these studies.
For the treatment of patients with a confirmed diagnosis, priority in clinical trials is given to three drugs: the monoclonal antibodies MBP 134 and maftivimab, as well as the antiviral drug remdesivir.
For prophylaxis within the framework of a clinical study, the oral antiviral drug obeldesivir will be tested — it is planned to be used as a measure of emergency prophylaxis after contact with infected individuals.
According to VOZ information, as soon as ready doses appear, two promising vaccines will be allowed for trials.
“There is hope”
WHO representatives especially emphasized that a key role in the fight against the virus, which kills from 30 to 50 percent of patients, is played by interaction with local communities.
“Ebola, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, can be defeated with appropriate medical care, and some people here, in Ituri, have already recovered. Timely consultation with a doctor truly changes the situation… There is hope,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during his visit to Bunia last week.
On Friday at WHO, it was noted that the outbreak is spreading rapidly both in the DR Congo and in neighboring Uganda: the number of cases is increasing, and instances of cross-border transmission of the infection are being recorded.
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