Attacks on Ebola centres intensify in eastern DRC amid outbreak fears

Attacks on Ebola centres are intensifying in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the World Health Organization warns the outbreak could worsen in the DRC and Uganda. On Thursday, the Rwampara health centre was stormed by a group of angry residents demanding the bodies of relatives who had died from Ebola, according to local sources. A day later, a tent provided by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its acronym MSF, at a hospital in Mongbwalu in Ituri province was set on fire.

ALIMA said that while the body was being prepared for burial, tensions flared, resulting in the burning of two tents. Gloire Idriss, a resident of Rwampara who witnessed the scene, said, "Some people here believe that Ebola is a business. When healthcare providers refuse to hand over the bodies of those who have died from Ebola, people think they might be trafficking their organs." The Congolese health minister, Roger Kamba, told Radio France Internationale, "Let us bury the deceased safely. The dead must not take others with them into the grave." As of Saturday, nearly 180 people had died from the disease and close to 800 cases had been recorded, according to the Congolese Ministry of Public Health.

Rodriguez Kisando, a doctor specialising in health and the environment, warned that attacks on treatment centres along with patients fleeing before completing care could speed up the spread of the disease. He said, "As long as there are scenes of violence and sick people escape from Ebola treatment centres before they are cured, the disease will continue spreading. This is extremely serious."