Violence in Bafwasende Slows DRC Ebola Response as Toll Tops 9,800
WHO confirms a nurse killed and another staff member wounded during an attack in eastern Congo.
By Kaito Garnier ·
A nurse died and a colleague suffered serious injuries during an assault in Bafwasende, a town in the eastern DRC province of Tshopo. The attack occurred on Saturday while the health workers were responding to an Ebola alert. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the incident on Sunday via a post on X, stating that healthcare must always be protected.
The Ministry of Health reports that the outbreak has produced more than 9,800 cases and over 4,700 deaths since May. These figures mark the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history. The strain responsible, Bundibugyo, currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear after exposure to the bodily fluids of infected individuals.
Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO regional director for Africa, condemned the violence on social media. He wrote that health is not a target and that misinformation and fear should not fuel attacks on responders. Local authorities have not yet commented on the incident or identified any suspects. The killing adds to a pattern of violence that officials say is delaying containment efforts.
Distrust of the government’s handling of the crisis has complicated the response. Chronic corruption has led some residents to dismiss the disease as a hoax. This skepticism makes work harder in remote areas and emerging hotspots that already lack medical supplies and staff. Responders report that residents have held team members captive or threatened them in designated health zones.
Previous incidents show the same trend. Last month, a politician in North Kivu was beaten to death after defending the government’s response on a radio show. In May, angry residents set fire to tents at two health centers within a single week. The outbreak has now been reported in four countries across eastern, central, and western Africa, the widest geographic spread for any Ebola outbreak on the continent.
Uganda’s Minister of Health, Chris Baryomunsi, announced on Sunday that all citizens returning from the DRC will be quarantined for 21 days. Uganda declared its latest outbreak over in July, but experts remain watchful after two people who passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria. The WHO called for stronger monitoring and cross-border cooperation in an October 23 update, while advising against travel or trade restrictions.
Source: Al Jazeera
