Five health workers recover from Ebola in DR Congo

The recoveries of four nurses who were being treated at a hospital in Bunia have brought hope that the response to the outbreak was beginning to bear fruit.

The World Health Organization said Sunday that five people in total have recovered from the disease and been discharged.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo jumped to 282, after 19 new positive test results were recorded, according to data from the communications ministry.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been 246 suspected deaths from the virus, with more than 1,100 suspected cases under investigation.

The outbreak was declared on May 15 in Ituri, in the northeast of the DR Congo.

It has since been detected in three provinces and in Uganda.