Hospital Tents Set on Fire Amid Burial Dispute
An angry crowd set fire to a section of a hospital at the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after family and friends of a young man believed to have died from the virus were prevented from taking his body 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 he witnessed at Rwampara General Hospital.
During the unrest, police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.
The body of a deceased Ebola victim is highly infectious, and authorities must ensure safe burial procedures to prevent further spread of the virus.
Medical workers at Rwampara hospital, located near the city of Bunia in Ituri province where nearly all cases have been reported, were placed under military protection as police moved in to restore order.
A healthcare worker was injured by stones thrown by protesters before law enforcement intervened, a hospital worker told the AFP news agency.
The deceased man was a well-known figure in the local community. Those upset by his death did not fully understand the nature of the disease, according to Jean Claude Mukendi, who is coordinating the security response to Ebola in Ituri.
"The man who died was a popular figure in the local community and those upset by his death did not 'grasp the reality of the disease',"
Mukendi told the Associated Press.
Witnesses told the young man was a footballer who had played with several local teams. His mother told the news agency she believed her son had died of typhoid fever, not Ebola.
Malembe said the crowd did not believe the virus, which has so far killed more than 130 people in eastern DR Congo, was real.
"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,"
the politician said.
"They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic."
He stated that two tents had been burned down, along with a body that was due to be buried.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends "safe and dignified burials" for Ebola victims, with trained teams using protective equipment to handle bodies.
Six patients had been receiving treatment in the tents on the hospital grounds, and it was reported they may have fled during the chaos.
However, according to the medical charity Alima, which reportedly operated the tents, all patients are accounted for and "are currently being cared for at the hospital".
Impact on National Activities and Regional Response
The unrest occurred as it was announced that DR Congo's national football team had cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, due to the outbreak.
The WHO has declared the situation a "public health emergency of international concern" but stated it is not at pandemic level.
On Wednesday, the WHO reported that 139 people in DR Congo were believed to have died from Ebola out of 600 suspected cases.
However, on the same day, Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told state broadcaster RTNC TV that authorities had registered 159 deaths.
Two cases of the virus have been detected in DR Congo's neighbour, Uganda.
As a result of the outbreak, Ugandan authorities have temporarily suspended flights, buses, and all other public transport crossing the border. Passenger ferries are also not permitted on the Semliki River, which forms part of the border between DR Congo and Uganda.
Details on the Ebola Strain and New Cases
The outbreak has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this strain, and the WHO has indicated it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to become available.
On Thursday, the M23 rebel group, which controls parts of eastern DR Congo, announced it had confirmed the first case of Ebola in South Kivu province, located hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre in Ituri.
The 28-year-old patient, who had travelled from Kisangani, died before the diagnosis was confirmed, according to a statement from the rebels.
Kisangani is a large city in north-central Tshopo province where no Ebola infections have been recorded to date.
There are increasing concerns about access to areas under M23 control.
The rebel group has never managed a crisis like Ebola but has stated it will cooperate with international partners to contain the virus.
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