If you still think Ebola is a myth, these three brave souls from Beni have a message for you.

In a truly emotional scene at the Beni Ebola Treatment Centre this week, three patients walked out CURED, ringing that victory bell and shouting to their community: "The disease is real!"

As reported by cbinews.tv, it's the kind of good news we desperately needed from eastern DRC.

Let's be honest, we've heard so many scary stories from Beni that it's easy to feel numb. But this? This is huge.

So, what actually happened?

Three patients who had tested positive for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have been officially discharged after returning two consecutive negative tests. That is the gold standard for being declared cured.

According to cbinews.tv, they were celebrated by health workers and their families as they left the facility, urging everyone in Beni to stop listening to rumours and to seek treatment early.

And they have a point. In Beni, misinformation has been just as deadly as the virus itself.

Why Beni matters - a little background

If you have followed Ebola over the years, you will know Beni is no stranger to this fight.

Beni, in North Kivu province, was the epicentre of the DRC's 10th outbreak - which, by far, was the country's largest and second-largest in the world. That outbreak ran from August 2018 to June 2020.

The numbers were staggering. According to the WHO, there were 3,453 infections and 2,264 deaths - a fatality rate of around 66%. The treatment centre in Beni at one point had over 130 health workers working around the clock.

It was also an outbreak plagued by insecurity. In December 2018, protests spilled over into an Ebola transit centre in Beni, forcing staff to temporarily withdraw. Twice, in December 2018 and June 2019, the virus looked contained, only to flare up again.

That is why every discharge matters. The last patient of that outbreak was discharged from the Beni ETC on 14 May 2020, before the outbreak was finally declared over 42 days later.

From no hope to real treatment

Here is the historical perspective: For decades, Ebola had no cure, only supportive care.

That changed in Beni. During the 2018-2020 outbreak, scientists ran a landmark clinical trial right there in the region for two antibody treatments - mAb114 and REGN-EB3 (now Inmazeb and Ebanga). For the first time, if patients arrived early, doctors could actually offer something that dramatically increased survival.

Before that, survival stories were rare. Now, survivors like those we saw at cbinews.tv are living proof that early detection saves lives. As UNICEF documented, many survivors from Beni have even gone back to use their immunity to care for children orphaned by the disease.

Three more names added to the survivor list is not just a statistic. It means three families made whole again, and a powerful message sent to a community still learning to trust the science.

The disease is real, but so is the cure when you seek help fast.

Have you or your community been affected by misinformation around Ebola? Let's talk about it in the comments.

Reporting via cbinews.tv

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