Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have announced that the first two patients treated for Ebola in the Bulape health zone, Kasai Province, have fully recovered and been discharged.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa disclosed this milestone in a post on its official X handle on Tuesday, describing it as a significant step in the country’s fight against the virus, which resurfaced earlier this month.
According to WHO, the recoveries were achieved through strengthened clinical care and rapid response measures coordinated by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), ALIMA, and other humanitarian partners.
“Appropriate control measures are being rolled out to curb the spread of the virus, save lives, and end the outbreak as quickly as possible,” the agency said.
The current outbreak was declared on September 4 after health authorities reported suspected cases in Kasai Province. As of that date, 28 suspected infections, including 15 deaths, had been recorded across Bulape, Bulape Com, Dikolo, and the Mweka health zone. Four healthcare workers were among the dead, while most of the suspected cases involved adults aged 15 years and above.
The government, with support from partners, has already deployed an initial 400 doses of the Ervebo Ebola vaccine from a stockpile in Kinshasa to Bulape, one of the outbreak’s hotspots. Additional doses are expected in the coming days.
DR Congo has experienced 15 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in 1976, including a 2022 flare-up in Equateur Province that was contained within three months. The Kasai region previously recorded cases in 2007 and 2008.
Ebola is a rare but often fatal illness transmitted from animals such as fruit bats to humans, with further spread occurring through direct contact with the body fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials.
