{"id":342662,"date":"2026-05-29T20:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=342662"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:23:28","slug":"ebola-outbreak-is-very-complex-but-might-be-stopped-who-chief-says-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/29\/ebola-outbreak-is-very-complex-but-might-be-stopped-who-chief-says-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola outbreak is \u2018very complex,\u2019 but \u2018might be stopped\u2019, WHO chief says – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The pinnacle of the World Health Organization has arrived in Congo\u2019s capital, Kinshasa, to support efforts against\u00a0an outbreak of a rare sort of\u00a0Ebola\u00a0virus, as medical personnel struggle with an absence of apparatus, a distrustful population and armed groups in a volatile region.<\/p>\n

The World Health Organization said Friday authorities have reported 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo return here is to essentially show to the community that they\u2019re not alone,\u201d WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on the airport late Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPushing orders from my comfortable office in Geneva is straightforward, but I\u2019m asking my colleagues to work with the community and I’m asking communities to guard themselves,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The outbreak \u201cmight be stopped,\u201d he said, but is \u201cvery complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Challenges just like the high number of individuals displaced by armed conflict within the region and food insecurity are complicating efforts to stop the spread of the virus, Tedros said.<\/p>\n

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Containment has been particularly difficult since the disease likely spread for weeks before it was first identified in mid-May.<\/p>\n

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has said three of its volunteers in Ituri province died after they were believed to have contracted\u00a0Ebola\u00a0doing unrelated health work on March 27 \u2014 greater than a month before the primary suspected death cited by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, the outbreak continues to spread faster than the response, despite health facilities becoming more organized and the arrival of more equipment.<\/p>\n

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Ana\u00efs Legand, a researcher within the WHO emergencies program, told reporters at a U.N. briefing in Geneva Friday that one \u201cpositive development\u201d was that an individual in Congo who had contracted the Bundibugyo virus had recovered and was discharged on Wednesday. It’s the only documented recovery of a confirmed\u00a0Ebola\u00a0patient in the course of the current outbreak.<\/p>\n

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Legand said five other infected people were also prone to get better.<\/p>\n

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The common fatality rate of Bundibugyo virus is around 30 to 50 per cent, she said.<\/p>\n

Medical aid donated by the European Union arrived in Ituri, the guts of Congo\u2019s\u00a0Ebola\u00a0outbreak, on Thursday, with more shipments expected over the subsequent eight days. The US announced $80 million in additional aid on the identical day, bringing its total commitment to greater than $112 million.<\/p>\n

An AP reporter in Bunia, the provincial capital, said the response has improved for the reason that recent arrivals of aid earlier this week.<\/p>\n

At Rwampara Hospital, where a treatment center has been established, the response looks much more organized than in previous days, with more staff deployed, stronger prevention measures and teams in protective gear visible across units \u2014 though patients proceed to reach across the clock.<\/p>\n

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The identical progress was noted at Bunia General Hospital, where recent medical kits, support personnel and emergency funding look like reinvigorating operations.<\/p>\n

Medical experts with scant supplies had been struggling to contain the outbreak of the\u00a0Bundibugyo virus, a form of\u00a0Ebola\u00a0that has no approved treatment or vaccine. In some areas, doctors have resorted to wearing expired medical masks while treating suspected patients.<\/p>\n

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