FIVE patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola virus, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Sunday during a visit to Bunia in eastern DR Congo, a city at the heart of an outbreak.

“Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment centre in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.

He said: “Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola.” 

The United Nations health body said on Friday that a patient had recovered from the Bundibugyo virus, the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. 

It was the first documented recovery of a confirmed Bundibugyo patient.

The WHO said authorities have reported 134 confirmed cases in Congo and neighbouring Uganda, including 18 confirmed deaths as of May 29.

Mr Tedros stressed the importance of involving the community in the outbreak response.

He said: “If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover, so the key is to come forward as early as possible and to get the necessary support.”