Suspected Ebola cases pass 900 as violence breaks out in Congo

Arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo underline the serious challenges authorities face – including a backlash in local communities – as they try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global public health emergency.

Congolese authorities said overnight that suspected cases in the country’s east have now passed 900, mainly in Ituri province, where the ongoing outbreak is concentrated.

The fire last week at centers in two cities at the center of the outbreak exposed the anger in a region wracked by violence linked to armed rebel groups, the displacement of large numbers of people, local government failures and international aid cuts that experts say have stripped health services in vulnerable communities.

“A devastating series of emergencies are converging,” says the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights.

Here’s a look at the protracted crises in eastern Congo that have made it home to one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, and how they are now affecting the response to a rare form of Ebola:

The region is constantly threatened by violence

Eastern Congo has faced years of attacks from dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of which had ties to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.

The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels control parts of the region. Although the Congolese government still largely controls the northeastern province of Ituri, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, that control is weak. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to IS, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks on civilian targets.

Before the outbreak, Doctors Without Borders said in an assessment that insecurity in Ituri had worsened recently, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving health facilities overwhelmed and “catastrophic conditions” in some parts.

Ebola cases are soaring in Ituri, where nearly a million people have been displaced

The United Nations humanitarian agency says nearly a million people have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Ituri.

That means this Ebola outbreak “is unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile health care systems,” said Gabriela Arenas, regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

There are concerns that the disease could spread to the large displacement camps near the city of Bunia, where the first cases were reported.

Congo’s Ministry of Communications said in a post to X on Sunday that there were 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths, mainly in Ituri. That was a significant jump from the more than 700 suspected Ebola cases previously announced, although the suspected deaths were revised down from the more than 170 previously announced. The change in the number of fatalities could not be directly explained.

Cases have also been reported in two other eastern provinces, North Kivu and South Kivu, where M23 rebels control, as well as in neighboring Uganda.

As a result, the outbreak in Congo is being managed by the government and partly by the rebel authorities, with a range of aid agencies also helping.

The aid cuts were devastating for eastern Congo

Health experts say cuts in international aid last year by the US and other wealthy countries were devastating to eastern Congo because of its many problems.

The cuts “reduce the capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks,” said Thomas McHale, director of public health at Physicians for Human Rights. Congo has had more than a dozen previous Ebola outbreaks.

Aid groups fighting this outbreak on the ground say they don’t have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infections, testing kits and body bags and other materials needed to safely bury victims’ bodies, which can be highly contagious.

“We have made requests to several partners, but we haven’t really received anything yet,” said Julienne Lusenge, president of Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, an aid group that operates a small hospital near Bunia.

“We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses,” she said.

There is no approved vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo-type Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak.

Health and emergency workers are also facing anger from local communities

The burning of treatment centers in the areas of Rwampara and Mongbwalu – which have the highest number of Ebola cases – shows how resistance in some communities is further complicating the response.

Colin Thomas-Jensen, director of impact at the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, said the attacks may reflect the “built-in skepticism and anger” of people in eastern Congo about the way the region has been treated, with years of violence from foreign-linked rebel groups and the inability of their government and international peacekeepers to protect them, he said.

Another source of anger is the strict protocols surrounding the burials of suspected Ebola victims, which authorities are taking charge of wherever they can to prevent further spread of the disease at traditional funerals – when families prepare the bodies and people gather for burial.

The first fire at an Ebola center in Rwampara was, according to witnesses and police, by a group of local young men trying to retrieve the body of a friend. The witnesses said the crowd accused the foreign aid group operating there of lying about Ebola.

Authorities in northeastern Congo have now banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people, and armed soldiers and police are guarding some funerals carried out by aid workers.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Be the first to receive your latest news and exclusive stories by following us on all platforms.