The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday said a patient had recovered from Ebola in the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This is the first confirmed discharge from treatment since the outbreak began. Speaking to reporters, WHO’s Anais Legand said the patient was released on May 27 after receiving two consecutive negative laboratory tests.“This is the first one to be discharged from a care centre following two negative tests,” she said.
Legand added that other recoveries were likely among unconfirmed cases. She said the agency had recorded 17 confirmed and 223 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak since it was declared on May 15, out of 125 confirmed and more than 900 suspected infections.
She said that no vaccine or specific treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak, which can have a case fatality rate of up to 50 percent, though current figures appear lower.
The WHO official stressed that early access to care improves survival prospects and said more recoveries were expected as treatment efforts continue.