On Sunday night, there was a second attack on an Ebola clinic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by local youths, who were demanding the return of the bodies of infected individuals for funerals. This unrest comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that suspected Ebola cases in both the DRC and Uganda have surpassed 900.
Gunfire broke out at Mombwaru General Hospital, located in Ituri province, which is at the heart of the Ebola outbreak. A group of frustrated young men forcefully entered the treatment center to demand the return of two Ebola patients’ bodies. Some accounts suggested that individuals in the crowd were armed, while others indicated that police fired into the air to disperse the mob.
“There was gunfire, and health care workers were trying to evacuate patients and staff,” said Dr. Richard Rokdu, the hospital’s medical director. As of Monday morning, he noted that the hospital remained on “general alert,” though it was unclear if there were any injuries from the incident.
A similar situation took place earlier, on Thursday, at Rwanpara Hospital, also in Ituri province. Here, a group of young locals set fire to an Ebola treatment center after hospital staff declined to release the body of a well-known soccer player believed to have died from the virus.
Just a day later, another crowd attacked one of the tents at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Ebola clinic in Mombwal, resulting in a fire. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but 18 individuals undergoing Ebola testing fled and struggled to find immediate care.
Dr. Rokdu expressed strong disapproval of the attack, highlighting its potential to cause panic among staff and allowing 18 suspected Ebola patients to escape into the community.
In an effort to curb the virus’s spread, authorities in northeastern DRC imposed a ban on gatherings exceeding 50 people, including funerals. This is particularly critical in Ebola-affected regions since funerals frequently lead to further transmission due to direct contact with the bodies.
There’s a significant level of skepticism among many residents, particularly the youth, regarding Ebola and the restrictions surrounding funerals. Some attribute the virus to witchcraft, believing that only mystical remedies can help, while others think it’s a scheme concocted by foreigners or even a bioweapon released through medical interventions.
The currently circulating strain is called Ebola Bundibugyo, a rare variant that previously only emerged during an outbreak in 2012 in northeastern DRC. One challenge this outbreak faced was the limited readiness of local clinics, which were primarily equipped to test the more common Zaire and Sudan strains. Currently, there’s no vaccine available for the Bundibugyo strain, complicating diagnosis and treatment.
Residents from Bundibugyo are urging the WHO to consider renaming the virus strain, asserting that it unjustly stigmatizes their community, which has been free from outbreaks for 20 years. In 2022, the WHO renamed monkeypox to mpox for similar considerations.
“Bundibugyo is too beautiful to be the name of a disease. We have to reclaim that name from this madness. Who do we need to sue? Who?” questioned Ugandan government spokesperson Alan Kasuja on social media.
The majority of the confirmed cases in this outbreak have been reported in the DRC. Ugandan health officials recently confirmed two new cases, bringing the total to seven. The initial five cases were individuals who crossed the border from DRC, while the last two resulted from local transmission involving a driver and a health worker who came into contact with an infected patient who died earlier in Uganda.
Both patients are currently in designated treatment units receiving care, as stated by Dr. Charles Olaro, Uganda’s National Health Service Director.
To prevent further spread, Uganda has taken precautions, including halting public transportation and air travel to the DRC, as well as canceling a major religious festival planned near Kampala. President Yoweri Museveni has also advised residents to refrain from handshakes during this state of emergency.
Kasuja and other officials have emphasized that the outbreak’s spread remains concentrated in DRC, with no local transmissions recorded in Uganda until the recent announcements.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that there are now over 900 suspected Ebola cases, 101 of which are confirmed. In Ituri province and adjacent areas, officials have documented a significant number of suspected cases, with the death toll reported between 119 and 220 due to the outbreak.
The eastern regions of Congo are affected by violence from rebel and extremist groups, causing over a million people to be displaced, which makes containing the Ebola outbreak and conducting contact tracing incredibly challenging.
Red Cross regional coordinator Gabriele Arenas raised concerns that the outbreak is spreading in areas that are already struggling with insecurity and inadequate health resources.
