BUNIA, Congo (AP) — At least 282 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Congo’s growing outbreak, the central African nation says, as patients who recovered from a type of the disease with no approved medicine or vaccine described their experiences to The Associated Press.
The outbreak remains focused in eastern Ituri province, where 264 cases have been confirmed, the health ministry said. Congo has reported over 1,000 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo
virus, the species of Ebola that was confirmed weeks after the outbreak quietly began.
The outbreak has spread to 22 health zones across three eastern provinces, government data shows, even as the World Health Organization has sought to highlight signs of progress like new deliveries of supplies to deeply under-resourced health centers.
Congo's health ministry says the main challenges in containing the outbreak in the remote region include early detection and rapid isolation of cases, rigorous contact tracing, safe and dignified burials and strengthening infection prevention and control in health facilities.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations said Monday it would commit up to $62 million to accelerate development of three experimental vaccines targeting Bundibugyo. The three in development are from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Moderna and the University of Oxford.
Health workers have been at high risk. The WHO honored five of them as survivors over the weekend during a visit by Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as he opened a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, capital of Ituri province.
Baraka Bulambulu, a nurse, said he was overjoyed after the final Ebola tests on him returned negative.
“Coming out of this illness alive is an indescribable joy," Bulambulu said with a wide grin.
Ezo Étienne, another nurse who recovered, said he had started feeling dizzy as he checked on patients.
“I called the team and told them, ‘Something’s wrong here,'" he recalled, adding, "I decided to rest for a bit, and a few minutes later I started vomiting.”
The virus is spread through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids. Treatment has mostly targeted patients' symptoms, the WHO has said.
“Your courage gives hope and your living story that this outbreak can be stopped,” Tedros told the health workers on Sunday.
Despite challenges that include threats by armed groups and anger against health workers by some wary residents, the recoveries are “a victory worth celebrating,” said Dr. Dieudonne Mwamba Kazadi, director-general of Congo’s National Institute of Public Health.
“It’s a strong message that it is possible to recover from Ebola when seeking care early in a dedicated health facility,” he added.
Neighboring Uganda has reported nine cases of Ebola in this outbreak and closed its border with Congo seeking to limit its spread. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, the Bundibugyo virus has been rare.
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Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo, contributed to this report.
