Bunia, Democratic Republic of the CongoAP —
Angry residents of a town at the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) attacked and set fire to tents that were part of a health center where people were being treated for the virus, town officials said on Saturday. This was the second such attack in the region in the past week.
Initial reports said no one was injured in the attack, but as patients fled the fire, 18 people suspected of having Ebola left the facility and are now missing, the local hospital director said.
Angry residents arrived at a clinic in the town of Mombwal on Friday night and set fire to tents set up by the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières for infected and confirmed Ebola patients, Dr. Richard Rokdi, director of Mombwal Hospital, told The Associated Press.
“We strongly condemn this action, as it caused panic among staff and also resulted in the release of 18 suspected cases into the community,” he said.
On Thursday, another treatment center in Rwanpara town was burnt down after the family was barred from collecting the body of a local man suspected of dying of Ebola.
The bodies of people who died from Ebola are highly contagious and could lead to further spread of infection as people prepare for burials or gather for funerals. The dangerous process of burying potential victims is being controlled as much as possible by authorities, but protests from family and friends may be met.
David Basima, the Red Cross team leader overseeing the burial, said the mass burial of Ebola patients in Rwanpara took place under tight security on Saturday amid heightened tensions between health workers and the local community.
Armed soldiers and police supervised the burial as Red Cross workers in white protective gear lowered the sealed coffin to the ground. A crying family stood in the distance.
Basima said the team “experienced many challenges, including resistance from young people and the community” after arriving on the scene.
“For our safety, we had no choice but to call the authorities and have them come and help us,” Basima said.
Authorities in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people to curb the spread of the virus.
The World Health Organization said the outbreak posed a “very high” risk to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, up from its previous “high” classification, but said the risk of the disease spreading globally remained low.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that 82 cases and seven deaths had been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but the outbreak was believed to be “much larger.”
There is no vaccine available for Bundibugyo virus, a rare type of Ebola. The virus spread undetected for several weeks after the first death was confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, but authorities tested for another, more common Ebola virus and found it negative. There are currently 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, but this number is expected to increase as surveillance expands.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the response to the outbreak must include building trust with local communities.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies announced on Saturday that three of its volunteers had died in an outbreak in Mongbuwal. The agency said three medical workers were believed to have contracted the virus on March 27 while processing bodies as part of a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola.
If confirmed, it would significantly delay the outbreak from late April, when the first death was confirmed in Bunia, the capital of Ituri region.
