Suspected Ebola cases in DR Congo top 900 amid attacks on health workers and severe shortages

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo reported on 20 April that suspected Ebola cases in the eastern region of the country have topped 900. According to the Congolese Ministry of Communication, there are now 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths from Ebola. Previously, officials had reported more than 700 suspected cases and over 170 deaths, concentrated mainly in Ituri province.

The World Health Organization (WHO) evaluates the current outbreak as a "very high" risk for the DRC but considers the risk of global spread low. The disease has been declared a public health emergency of international concern.

Health workers are confronting multiple challenges, including arson attacks on Ebola treatment centers in eastern Congo. Two centers in two towns were attacked in the past week, highlighting local frustration in a region destabilized by armed conflict, mass displacement, local government failures, and cuts in international aid. Experts say this has left health facilities in vulnerable communities exhausted.

Colin Thomas-Jensen, Executive Director of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, assessed that the attacks may reflect the "skepticism and anger" of people in eastern Congo about how the region has been treated, enduring years of violence from rebel groups with foreign links, along with the inability of authorities and international peacekeepers to protect them.

Another source of anger is the strict burial procedures for suspected Ebola victims. Authorities control funerals to prevent spread through traditional rites where families prepare bodies and many gather. The first Ebola center fire in Rwampara was reportedly carried out by a group of youths seeking to reclaim a friend's body.

North-eastern Congolese authorities have banned funerals and gatherings of more than 50 people. Armed soldiers and police guard some burial ceremonies conducted by relief workers. The region has suffered years of attacks from dozens of rebel groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) linked to the Islamic State (IS).

Before the outbreak, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) noted rising insecurity in Ituri, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving health facilities overcrowded with "catastrophic conditions" in some areas. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that nearly 1 million people have been displaced by conflict.

Gabriela Arenas, regional coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), observed that the Ebola outbreak is "taking place in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and weak health systems." Officials fear the disease could reach large displacement camps near the city of Bunia, where the first case was recorded.

Medical experts say that cuts to international aid by the United States and other wealthy countries last year have severely impacted eastern Congo. Thomas McHale, Public Health Director at Physicians for Human Rights, noted that the cuts "reduce the capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks."

Relief organizations fighting the outbreak are facing severe shortages of equipment such as face shields, protective suits, test kits, body bags, and burial materials. Julienne Lusenge, President of the organization Women's Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, who runs a small hospital near Bunia, said: "We only have dry hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses."

The Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus that is causing this outbreak currently has no approved vaccine or treatment.