EBOLA RESPONSE DISRUPTED AFTER CONGO TREATMENT CENTRE SET ABLAZE

A second Ebola treatment centre was set on fire in eastern Congo, and 18 suspected Ebola patients fled during the incident, according to the Associated Press. The attack took place in Mongbwalu, where residents set fire to a treatment tent operated by Doctors Without Borders.

The incident followed a similar attack days earlier in Rwampara, where a treatment centre was burned after families were prevented from retrieving the body of a deceased relative because of the risk of Ebola transmission. AP reported that burial procedures have become a point of public anger and mistrust during the outbreak.

The World Health Organization said the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda involves Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus. WHO said the outbreak was declared by the health ministries of both countries on May 15, and the WHO Director-General determined on May 16 that it constituted a public health emergency of international concern.

AP reported that WHO has raised the outbreak’s risk level for Congo to “very high.” Health officials and aid groups have warned that community mistrust, violence against treatment sites, and disrupted care could complicate containment efforts.

Public-health agencies have also increased monitoring outside the region. Reuters reported that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to its enhanced Ebola screening program for Americans returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan.

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