Geneva, October 10 (Daily Kiran) : The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced on Saturday that significant progress has been made in the fight against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He noted that 25 patients were discharged from a treatment center in Isiro after recovering from the disease. However, he cautioned that while some areas show a decline in cases, others are still experiencing an increase in infections.
In a post on X, Tedros highlighted the continuous advancements in the battle against Ebola in the DRC. He reported that the 25 patients, comprising 13 women and 12 men, were released from the WHO-supported Ebola treatment center in Isiro, located in the Haut-Uele province.
This center, which was inaugurated with the support of WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has expanded its capacity from 10 to 50 beds. Tedros emphasized that the facility enhances patient care and enables the Isiro General Referral Hospital to continue providing essential health services.
Additionally, the WHO has supplied over a ton of medical supplies to the Isiro hospital, including oxygen supplies, gloves and masks for healthcare workers, along with beds and mattresses. To date, 211 healthcare workers have been trained at the WHO’s clinical training center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, with plans to open a new center in North Kivu shortly.
Tedros provided updates on the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers, stating that 100 of them received the Ervebo vaccine yesterday under a program led by the South Carolina government. This vaccine has proven effective against the Ebola Zaire strain and is being studied for its efficacy against the Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), which is responsible for the current outbreak. Over 9,000 frontline healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far.
He also mentioned that MSF and its partners have vaccinated at least 870 frontline workers as part of the “Bravo” study, which assesses the impact of vaccination on severe illness and mortality from Bundibugyo. The WHO is supporting a vaccine efficacy trial for both Ervebo and BVD-specific vaccines, expected to begin in the coming weeks.
While some regions show signs of a slowdown in the outbreak, Tedros stressed the importance of ramping up relief efforts in areas where the outbreak persists. He reiterated that the WHO is collaborating with the DRC government and all partners to control the outbreak swiftly and strengthen health services in the region to protect communities from future outbreaks.
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