A group burying Ebola victims was attacked in the Congo
In the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, residents attacked a specialized team tasked with burying people who had died from Ebola. The incident occurred on June 1 in the town of Katana, located in South Kivu Province.
According to Reuters, the attack targeted rescue workers who had undergone special training to safely handle the bodies of victims of highly dangerous infections. Due to the crowd’s aggression, the workers were forced to leave the coffin behind.
Afterward, local residents began carrying the body, which, according to experts, poses a high risk of spreading the virus and creating new chains of infection.
In recent weeks, funeral teams and medical workers have increasingly faced hostility from the public. In particular, some relatives of the deceased do not trust the official conclusions regarding the causes of death.
A similar incident also occurred in the city of Bunia, where local residents attacked a response team at a cemetery. At least four people were injured as a result of the incident.
According to official data, since the start of the Ebola outbreak, which was declared on May 15, there have been 363 confirmed cases and 62 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Reuters.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced his intention to urgently visit the city of Bunia in the Congolese province of Ituri. This region has become the epicenter of yet another dangerous Ebola outbreak.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded its 17th Ebola outbreak, which has already claimed the lives of 80 people. This time, the disease was likely caused by the little-studied Bundibugyo ebolavirus strain, rather than the more common Zaire ebolavirus.
