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A tent used to treat Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been set on fire for the second time this week, killing 18 people suspected of being infected, the director of a local hospital said on Saturday.
Unidentified people arrived at the clinic in Mongbwalu, the town at the center of the Bundibugyo virus outbreak, which is a rare type of Ebola, on Friday night.
They burned the tent that was put up by the charity Doctors Without Borders, who are suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola, Dr. Richard Lokudi, director of Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, told the Associated Press.
“We strongly condemn this act, as it caused panic among the staff of Mongbwalu Referral Hospital and also led to the escape of 18 suspects in the community,” he said.
On Thursday, another medical center in Rwampara town was burnt down after family members were refused to collect the body of a local man.
WATCH | Latest on Ebola outbreaks in DRC and Uganda:
The World Health Organization expects Ebola cases to rise, which it considers a public health emergency of global concern, but not a pandemic emergency. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda have both declared outbreaks.
The bodies of those who died from Ebola can be highly infectious and lead to further spread as people prepare for burials and gather at funerals. The dangerous practice of burying suspected victims is controlled by the authorities where possible, which is met with protests from families and friends.
Ebola patients were buried in Rwampara on Saturday under tight security as the situation between health workers and the local community is tense, said David Basima, who is the leader of the Red Cross team responsible for the burial.
“You come to the house [health-care] building, faced many difficulties, including opposition from young people and the community. So we were forced to inform the authorities to help us, to be safe,” he said.
On Friday, authorities in the northeastern part of the country banned funerals and gatherings of more than 50 people in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the outbreak now poses a “very high” risk to the DRC – up from the previous “high” category – but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that 82 cases and seven deaths had been confirmed in the DRC but that the disease was believed to be “very large.”
There is no vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, which has been spreading undetected for weeks in Ituri province after the first known death while authorities tested for another, more common, Ebola virus and found it negative. There are now 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, although more are expected as surveillance increases.
Dr. Kent Brantly is an American doctor who contracted Ebola 12 years ago in Liberia while caring for patients. He says the location of the outbreak – on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda – makes it difficult to contain it.
Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the response to the outbreak of the disease must include building trust in communities.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Saturday three of its volunteers died due to the outbreak of violence in Mongbwalu. The agency said it believes three health workers contracted the virus while handling dead bodies on March 27 as part of a campaign to help people not related to Ebola.
This would significantly push back the timeline of the outbreak’s first confirmed death in late April in the town of Bunia, the capital of Ituri.
