DR Congo: doctors combat Ebola with supportive care as patients show signs of recovery

One doctor is closely supervising the construction of a World Food Programme (WFP) VIP clinic for healthcare workers infected with Ebola in Bunia, after he announced on Wednesday that the first Ebola patient had recovered.

Dr Richard Kitengé said that they provided therapeutic medical care, taking into account the patient’s clinical progress, but they didn’t administer any specific treatment to achieve this recovery.

"And the same applies to the other patients who will recover, because there are many patients who are making excellent progress and will be discharged within 48 to 72 hours", he added.

The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths.

Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases have been confirmed, and they are looking into over 3,000 possible contacts.

The Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly, forcing some countries to take measures such as closing their borders with the DRC.

Uganda on Wednesday ordered the closure of its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola are surging, and as cases have been confirmed at home after Ugandan health workers were exposed to the disease from Congolese patients.

However, Dr Kitengé seeks to reassure people about local capabilities in managing the Ebola outbreak.

"Today, we can draw on the expertise we have built through more than ten epidemics to help contain the current outbreak," he said. "Therefore, we manage them (patients) using the various experiences gained from handling around ten epidemics without specific treatment."

African Union's health agency vows Ebola Bundibugyo vaccine by end of 2026

A vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus will be ready by the end of the year, the head of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday.

The Bundibugyo strain of the virus that has caused a major outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently has no approved vaccine or treatment.

Jean Kaseya, head of Africa CDC, said there were already "some candidates" for a vaccine.

"What we can tell you for sure, by the end of this year, 2026, Africa CDC will make sure that we have a vaccine and medicine against Bundibugyo," he told reporters in an online briefing.

"Our leaders are ready to invest. We are investing at technical level, at a strategic level, to make sure that (the vaccine) will happen," he added.

Kaseya said he had received a message the previous day from the Russian Ministry of Health claiming to have already developed a vaccine against the strain.

A member of his team clarified that the proposed vaccine targets the Zaire strain of Ebola, and that upcoming discussions with Moscow's Gamaleya National Research Centre would indicate why it may be effective against the Bundibugyo strain.

Kaseya said there had been at least 1,077 suspected cases since the outbreak was declared on May 15, including 246 deaths.

That is slightly higher than the latest figures from the World Health Organization, which has announced 10 confirmed and 223 suspected Ebola deaths.