Ebola Treatment Center Set Ablaze in DR Congo Amid Outbreak Response
(MENAFN) An Ebola treatment facility in the Democratic Republic of Congo was set on fire by unidentified individuals on Saturday as health authorities continued efforts to contain an outbreak linked to the Bundibugyo virus, an official said.
The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning in Bafwasende, a rural community in the north-central province of Tshopo, according to Marcel Likilo, a doctor overseeing the local health zone.
The attack came just seven days after a health worker was killed by a mob while responding to an Ebola alert in the same area.
Two rooms designated for patients suspected of carrying the virus were torched before local security personnel stepped in and managed to extinguish the blaze, Likilo told reporters in Kisangani, the provincial capital.
Medical teams sent to the area to assist with the outbreak response subsequently left for Kisangani. Suspected cases being accommodated at the damaged facility were relocated to Nia-Nia in neighboring Ituri province, he added.
Health authorities have warned that hostility and resistance among local communities continue to obstruct efforts to control the spread of the disease.
The latest figures released by the Health Ministry put the number of confirmed Ebola cases above 10,000, with fatalities exceeding 5,000 since the outbreak began in mid-May.
The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning in Bafwasende, a rural community in the north-central province of Tshopo, according to Marcel Likilo, a doctor overseeing the local health zone.
The attack came just seven days after a health worker was killed by a mob while responding to an Ebola alert in the same area.
Two rooms designated for patients suspected of carrying the virus were torched before local security personnel stepped in and managed to extinguish the blaze, Likilo told reporters in Kisangani, the provincial capital.
Medical teams sent to the area to assist with the outbreak response subsequently left for Kisangani. Suspected cases being accommodated at the damaged facility were relocated to Nia-Nia in neighboring Ituri province, he added.
Health authorities have warned that hostility and resistance among local communities continue to obstruct efforts to control the spread of the disease.
The latest figures released by the Health Ministry put the number of confirmed Ebola cases above 10,000, with fatalities exceeding 5,000 since the outbreak began in mid-May.
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