BENI, DR Congo, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- For years, Alex Olela fought Ebola from the front lines, treating patients during five outbreaks of the deadly disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Then, in a cruel twist, the doctor found himself on the other side of the battle -- not as a caregiver, but as a patient fighting for his own life.
Olela contracted Ebola at a treatment center in Beni, a city in the country's eastern North Kivu Province, which is also among the health zones hardest hit by the ongoing Ebola outbreak, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
After 16 days of treatment, he was declared cured on Thursday. Having survived the disease himself, the doctor said he is determined to return to the front lines, describing his recovery as renewed motivation to fight the outbreak alongside his colleagues.
NO SUCH THING AS ZERO RISK
For doctors and nurses treating Ebola patients, the threat of infection remains a constant concern, even in facilities equipped with protective gear and established safety procedures.
"Doctors, nurses and all other health workers on the front lines against Ebola are always at risk because their level of exposure is extremely high," said Jeremie Katsavara, a doctor overseeing patient care in Beni.
"Even when we have all the necessary personal protective equipment, there is no such thing as zero risk," he said.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 266 health workers had been infected with Ebola in the DRC since the outbreak began in May, with 50 deaths reported as of Sept. 29.
For Olela, his own infection has reinforced the importance of vigilance and early diagnosis.
Recalling the symptoms he experienced, the doctor urged fellow health workers to seek appropriate medical assessment promptly if they developed signs of illness following potential exposure.
His experience also underscores the diagnostic challenges posed by Ebola, whose early symptoms, including fever and headache, can resemble those of malaria and other common illnesses, one of the reasons that hinders early detection of cases, explained health authorities.
FIGHTING DEADLY OUTBREAK
The recovery of Olela and two other nurses in Beni comes as the DRC continues to battle its largest Ebola outbreak on record, with transmission persisting across several eastern provinces.
According to the latest outbreak report from DRC health authorities, as of Oct. 6, the country had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases, including 4,205 deaths and 2,269 recoveries, across 64 health zones in seven provinces. North Kivu has reported 1,785 confirmed infections and 1,021 deaths, with a case fatality ratio of 57.2 percent, the highest among the affected provinces.
Although transmission has slowed in some areas, new cases continue to emerge elsewhere, underscoring the uneven progress of efforts to contain the disease.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the majority of deaths were still occurring outside treatment centers and that contact tracing remained insufficient.
HOPE AMID DANGER
Despite the scale of the crisis, medical workers in Beni said each patient who survives provides fresh motivation to continue their work.
For Katsavara, the priority is not simply to count the number of health workers who have contracted Ebola, but to ensure that those infected receive timely treatment and have the best possible chance of recovery.
"What matters is to see how we can quickly save them, help them and ensure they come out victorious," he said, adding that the same principle applies to all Ebola patients.
Katsavara said the case fatality rate among patients under his team's care has fallen from nearly 50 percent at the beginning of the outbreak to around 30 percent, expressing hope that further improvements in clinical management could bring the figure down even more.
The WHO has emphasized that rapid diagnosis, timely referral and optimized supportive care can help reduce mortality, even as efforts continue to develop effective vaccines and treatments against the Bundibugyo virus.
For Olela, surviving Ebola has not changed his determination to care for others. After spending more than two weeks as a patient at a treatment facility where he had once worked as a doctor, he now hopes to resume his duties.
"I assure you that I will come back even stronger and more resilient, and it is this determination that will enable us to defeat this disease together," Olela said.
