The World Health Organization announced the first recovery of a confirmed Ebola patient in the outbreak raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“On May 27, a patient recovered and left the hospital and has been discharged into the community,” said Anais Legand, WHO technical officer on viral haemorrhagic fevers.
Legand stressed this marks the first confirmed patient to be discharged after two negative tests, but noted there are likely other recoveries among those not yet confirmed.
To date, the WHO has recorded 17 confirmed deaths and 223 suspected deaths out of 125 confirmed cases and over 900 suspected cases since the outbreak was declared on May 15.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment. That strain can have a case fatality rate of up to 50 percent. For known cases in this outbreak, the rate currently appears below 25 percent.
Legand emphasized that early access to care can greatly improve survival rates, and said the WHO expects more people to recover.