Growing security threats are disrupting public health operations in eastern Congo as officials work to contain Ebola.
BUNIA, Congo (AP) – At least a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers have been recorded throughout Congo The Ebola outbreak as security fears limit the response in the worst-hit region, authorities said Saturday.
Many health workers and other frontline workers in Ituri province have also gone on strike over unpaid wages, further complicating response efforts in what has been announced Fastest Ebola outbreak in history. So far, 2,181 cases have been registered, including 864 deaths.
of Bundibugyo virus is responsible for this outbreak it is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
Many of the attacks have been carried out by angry mobs that have attacked treatment centers or targeted response teams on the ground, Pierre Akilimali, the incident manager for the Ebola response, told a news conference in Bunia, Ituri’s capital.
Attacks are not limited to healthcare teams and affect frontline workers such as funeral crews, according to Dr. Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response.
“Members of various response teams have been held captive in some health zones. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened and continue to be threatened in some cemeteries and within some communities,” Lufongola told the briefing.
Ebola is spread in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, as well as contaminated surfaces and materials. Traditional funerals in which loved ones wash and prepare bodies have been curtailed, angering some residents.
In Ituri, which accounts for about 90% of all cases, health and aid workers have been seen leaving remote communities considered hotspots and heading for Bunia in recent days, locals told The Associated Press.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that humanitarian actors are “deeply concerned by the escalation of violence” affecting the Ebola response and that access to treatment centers and surrounding communities remains limited.
“The worsening security situation has forced some humanitarian partners involved in the Ebola response to temporarily relocate staff to Bunia, which is relatively safer,” he said.
The latest recorded attack was on Wednesday, when residents in the town of Nyakunde attacked a hospital and affected an Ebola treatment center nearby.
Officials said treatment and care resumed Thursday at the center after its residents, including some patients, left after the attack. However, concerns remained about the risks of transmission amid the chaos.
“I fear that aid workers involved in fighting this Ebola outbreak will leave the area. This risks making the task of eradicating the outbreak more difficult,” said Christophe Munyanderu, a civil society leader in Ituri’s Irumu territory.
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By PROSPER HERI NGORORA and CONSTANT SAME LOVERS Associated Press
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