Residents in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked an Ebola burial team this week, forcing responders to abandon a coffin and raising concerns over possible new chains of transmission, the health ministry said.
The incident took place on Monday in Katana, a town in South Kivu province controlled by AFC/M23 rebels, about 30 kilometres north of Bukavu. The team had been carrying out a safe burial, a procedure used to handle the bodies of Ebola victims under strict health protocols.
Authorities said the body was later handled by members of the community, a practice considered highly dangerous because Ebola victims remain highly contagious after death.
The ministry did not say what caused the attack, but the incident highlights the mistrust and resistance that continue to complicate the response to the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. In recent weeks, burial teams and health workers have faced hostility from residents and relatives of victims who questioned the cause of death.
A separate attack was also reported on Monday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, where the outbreak was first confirmed. Residents assaulted a response team at a cemetery, leaving at least four people injured, according to a situation report and a local aid worker.
Congo has now recorded 363 confirmed Ebola cases and 62 deaths since the outbreak was declared on May 15, making it the country’s 17th Ebola outbreak.
Health authorities reported 19 new confirmed cases, including two deaths, in the latest update. Infections have now spread across 17 of Ituri’s 36 health zones, while cases have also been reported in seven health zones in North Kivu and one in South Kivu.
The International Organization for Migration is helping establish 30 health control posts across the three affected provinces to monitor movement and identify sick people before they spread the virus further.
Officials said there had also been some progress. In Ituri’s Rwampara health zone, 32 contacts completed 21 days of monitoring and were cleared of Ebola. In Goma, North Kivu, authorities prepared to discharge a recovered patient, who AFC/M23 officials said had been reunited with her family.
International supplies are continuing to arrive in eastern Congo, including kits for 300 safe burials delivered to Bunia on June 3 by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.