Bundibugyo Ebola Strain Shows High Survival Rate in DRC; Suspected Cases in Brazil, Italy Test Negative

Four nurses treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia after recovering, the World Health Organization said on Sunday. A laboratory worker also recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to five.

The number of confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 282, including 42 deaths, after 19 new positive tests were recorded, according to data from the communications ministry. The outbreak is the 17th in the country and the third-largest since the virus was identified.

The World Health Organization stated that more recoveries are expected when cases are diagnosed early and patients receive care promptly. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited Bunia on Saturday and said the disease can be survived with good medical care even though no licensed vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain.

Brazil, a man in Sao Paulo who recently traveled from the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for meningitis, while a patient in Rio de Janeiro who had visited Uganda tested positive for malaria. Local health authorities said neither diagnosis rules out Ebola.

In Italy, a man who returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday triggered Ebola protocols in Cagliari but tested negative, the health ministry said on Monday. The ministry added that the risk of Ebola in Italy remains very low.

Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote in a Sunday op-ed that the risk of regional spread is already occurring. More than 1,100 suspected cases are being investigated across affected areas. Last month the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, though it does not meet pandemic criteria.