BUNIA, Congo
Mourners gathered on Friday to lay to rest a 6-month-old girl who succumbed to Ebola earlier this week. She was the third child to die at an orphanage in eastern Congo during an ongoing outbreak that has proven difficult for authorities to manage.
People stood at a distance, some carrying a cross, as masked health workers lowered the small coffin into the ground. A Catholic priest offered prayers over her remains.
“It’s a feeling of sadness because we have lost one of our own, a daughter of the church,” Father Innocent Ndogo expressed. “As we have always said, the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.”
The Ituri region, the epicenter of this outbreak, has accounted for over 90% of reported cases. Tensions have arisen between local residents and healthcare professionals regarding burial practices and regulatory responses, sometimes involving military interventions.
The stark reality of safe burial protocols was palpable on Friday, as only health workers in protective gear were permitted to handle the coffin and conduct the burial.
The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola involved in this outbreak lacks an approved treatment or vaccine. Health workers have voiced concerns about insufficient masks, gloves, and other protective equipment.
Thus far, there have been 894 confirmed cases and over 200 deaths, making the current outbreak three times more severe than a similar one in Uganda back in 2000. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have pointed out that, alarmingly, around 35,000 individuals are considered potential contacts. Despite this, it hasn’t reached the fatality levels of the devastating 2014 outbreak, which claimed over 11,000 lives.
In the initial days, the Bundibugyo strain was not subjected to testing, contributing to the widespread nature of the outbreak. Past outbreaks in Congo were primarily linked to the more common Zaire virus, which does have a vaccine.
Alex Lock, a Communications Officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, urged people not to become indifferent to the situation.
“She was a baby. She had her whole life ahead of her. Unfortunately, she was taken by the disease, a disease that, as you know, is transmitted from one person to another,” Lock stated.
While the outbreak is mainly in Ituri, cases have also emerged in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, extending into Uganda, where 19 confirmed cases and two fatalities have been recorded.
