Ebola recoveries bring signs of hope in Congo as suspected cases emerge outside Africa

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 01, 2026 01:24 pm IST - Congo Furaha Tikamanyire, a Congolese health worker who recovered from the Ebola virus receives her certificate of discharge at the Evangelical Medical Center, as she stands with Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters Four nurses who were being treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after recovering from the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday (May 31, 2026). More recoveries are expected, especially when people are diagnosed early and able to access care, and as the response to the outbreak intensifies. A laboratory worker had also recovered earlier this week, the agency said, bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to five. However, suspected cases are being looked into in Brazil and Italy tied to travel to affected nations. The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has increased to 282, with 42 deaths, after 19 new positive test results were recorded, according to data distributed by the Communications Ministry. Earlier this month the WHO declared the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo version of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, although it does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency. Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during his visit to coordinate the response to the Ebola outbreak in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while on a Saturday (May 30, 2026) visit to Bunia — the capital of the eastern Congolese province of Ituri — noted that although there currently is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo virus, “it is not without hope,” as it can be survived with good medical care. The outbreak — the 17th in Congo and the third-largest since Ebola was discovered half a century ago — is outpacing the global response, which got off to a late start. “The risk of regional spread is already happening,” Jean Kaseya, Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said in an Financial Times (FT) op-ed published on Sunday (May 31, 2026). It said that over 1,100 suspected cases are being investigated. In Brazil, a man with a suspected case of Ebola in Sao Paulo tested positive for meningitis. Another suspected case emerged in Rio de Janeiro, where the patient tested positive for malaria, local health authorities said on Sunday (May 31, 2026). In neither case does the diagnosis rule out the possibility of Ebola, they said. In the Sao Paulo case, a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo presented with a fever after recently visiting the African country, while in Rio the patient had recently traveled to Uganda. In Italy, protocols for a suspected case of Ebola were triggered in Sardinia’s capital Cagliari for a man who had flown back from Congo on Saturday (May 30, 2026) with some symptoms, but the Health Ministry said early on Monday (June 1, 2026) that he had tested negative. “We confirm that the risk (of Ebola) in Italy remains very low,” the Ministry said. disease / Democratic Republic of Congo / viral diseases Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vu

Ebola recoveries bring signs of hope in Congo as suspected cases emerge outside Africa

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Ebola recoveries bring signs of hope in Congo as suspected cases emerge outside Africa

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