Two Ebola patients who were treated with new drugs in the city of Goma in eastern Congo have been declared “cured” and returned to their home.
Top doctors fighting Ebola quickly used the case yesterday to press the message that people can recover from the potentially deadly disease if they seek proper care. Ebola is dangerous but it is also curable with correct treatment, said Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research.
“Ebola kills quickly and Ebola heals quickly. That’s the message,” said Muyembe, at a press conference in Goma. “These cases were detected very quickly. Researchers said more study is needed to nail down how well those two compounds work. The drugs are antibodies that block Ebola.
In the trial, significantly fewer people died among those given the Regeneron drug or the NIH’s, about 30%, compared to those who received another treatment. Esperance Nabintu rejoiced that she and her young son had survived Ebola.