An angry crowd set fire to a hospital at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after family and friends of a young man thought to have died from the virus were prevented from taking his body away for burial.
“They started throwing projectiles at the hospital. They even set fire to tents that were being used as isolation wards,” local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC about the scene at Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia in Ituri province.
Chaos at the Hospital
In the chaos, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd. A healthcare worker was injured by stone-throwing protesters before law enforcement agents intervened.
The body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious and authorities must ensure safe burial to stop the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization recommends “safe and dignified burials” with trained teams using protective equipment to handle bodies.
Denial and Distrust
The man who died was a popular footballer in the local community. His mother told Reuters she believed her son had died of typhoid fever, not Ebola.
“People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders — it does not exist,” Malembe said.
He said two tents had been burned down, along with a body that had been due to be buried. Six patients had been receiving treatment in the tents — but the medical charity Alima, which reportedly ran the tents, confirmed all are accounted for and being cared for at the hospital.
What This Means
The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the WHO has said it could take up to nine months for a jab to be ready. The WHO has called it a “public health emergency of international concern” but said it was not at pandemic level.
