An angry crowd set fire to isolation tents at a hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo after family and friends of a young man believed to have died from Ebola were prevented from taking his body for burial. The unrest broke out at Rwampara General Hospital near the city of Bunia in Ituri province, the epicenter of the country’s latest Ebola outbreak.
Local politician Luc Malembe Malembe said protesters threw projectiles at the hospital and torched tents being used as Ebola isolation wards. Police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd as violence escalated. A healthcare worker was injured by stone-throwing protesters before security forces restored order. Medical staff at the hospital were later placed under military protection.
Witnesses told Reuters the deceased man was a footballer known in the local community. His mother reportedly believed he had died from typhoid fever rather than Ebola. Authorities said the body of an Ebola victim is highly infectious and requires a safe burial process to prevent further spread of the virus.
Malembe said many residents in the area do not believe Ebola is real and instead suspect hospitals and aid organizations are profiting from the outbreak.
“People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening,” he said, adding that some view Ebola as “an invention by outsiders.”
Two isolation tents were burned, along with a body awaiting burial. Initial reports suggested six patients receiving treatment may have fled during the chaos, though medical charity Alima later said all patients had been accounted for and were receiving care.
The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern,” though not a pandemic. WHO figures released Wednesday showed 139 deaths from Ebola out of around 600 suspected cases, while Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said authorities had recorded 159 deaths.
The outbreak has been linked to the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no vaccine currently exists. WHO officials said it could take up to nine months to develop a vaccine.
Authorities in neighboring Uganda have suspended flights, buses and ferries crossing the border after two Ebola cases were detected there.
Naman is a copy editor at Times Now, with over three years experience in covering US News, politics, global affairs, sports, and other domains. Apart...View More
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