Ebola Recovery and Ongoing Concerns
On May 31st, the World Health Organization announced that four nurses in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, have been discharged from the hospital after successfully recovering from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. This is a positive development, and perhaps more recoveries will follow if people receive early diagnoses and access to care as the response to the outbreak ramp up.
This week, a laboratory worker also recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to five. However, there are some suspected cases being investigated in Brazil and Italy related to travel from affected countries.
Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo has reported 282 confirmed Ebola cases, with 42 fatalities. This follows 19 new positive test results, according to data from the communications ministry.
Earlier this month, the WHO declared this outbreak—a rare Bundibugyo version of the virus in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda—a public health emergency of international concern. However, it doesn’t quite meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency just yet.
During his visit to Bunia, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged that while there’s no licensed vaccine or treatment specifically for this strain of Ebola, there remains hope that with proper medical care, patients can survive.
Concerns of Suspected Cases Outside Africa
This outbreak, the 17th in Congo, has quickly become the third-largest since Ebola was first discovered about fifty years ago. Jean Kaseya, the director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, commented in an op-ed that the global response has lagged, which has allowed for ongoing risks of regional spread. More than 1,100 suspected cases are currently under investigation.
In Brazil, a man in São Paulo who is suspected of having Ebola tested positive for meningitis instead. Another suspected case in Rio de Janeiro tested positive for malaria, but both scenarios do not entirely rule out the possibility of Ebola, according to local health authorities. The São Paulo case involves a man who recently traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, while the patient in Rio had also traveled to Uganda.
Meanwhile, in Italy, protocols were activated in Cagliari for a suspected case involving a man who flew back from Congo on Saturday with symptoms. However, the health ministry announced on Monday that he tested negative for Ebola.
Overall, the ministry confirmed that the risk of Ebola in Italy remains very low.
