MAY 31, 2026
WHO Director-General visits Bunia as five patients recover from Bundibugyo Ebola, new treatment center opens
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus traveled to Bunia, the provincial capital of Ituri in eastern Congo, on Sunday for the opening of a new Ebola treatment center. Five patients have recovered from the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola during the current outbreak, including four discharged the same day. Official figures show 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths.
The WHO Director-General's visit to Bunia coincided with the inauguration of a new Ebola treatment center in Ituri province, where the current Bundibugyo strain outbreak is centered. Tedros said four patients were discharged on Sunday and one had been discharged two days prior, describing the recoveries as a sign of hope while noting that no approved treatment or vaccine yet exists for the Bundibugyo virus.
The WHO reported on Friday that a patient had recovered from a confirmed Bundibugyo infection — the first documented recovery of a confirmed case during this outbreak. The Bundibugyo virus is a rare type of Ebola, distinct from the more widely known Zaire strain for which approved treatments exist.
Pierre Akilimali, Incident Manager at Congo's National Institute of Public Health, and Dr. Davin Ambitapio, a doctor at the new treatment center, both described cautious optimism at the inauguration. Ambitapio said, according to the Associated Press, that "the virus here is not as complicated as those we have dealt with in the past."