Ebola outbreak: treatment tent torched in Mongbwalu as 18 suspected cases escape

Health officials in northeastern Congo reported fresh violence linked to the Ebola response. A treatment tent in Mongbwalu was burned on Friday night. The incident caused fear among hospital staff. It also led to 18 people, suspected of infection, leaving the clinic and mixing with others.

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Dr Richard Lokudi, director of the Mongbwalu General Reference Hospital, told The Associated Press that unknown attackers reached the clinic and set the fire. The tent had been installed by Doctors Without Borders. It was used for suspected and confirmed Ebola patients. It was the second fire targeting such a tent that week.

Ebola outbreak in Congo prompts tighter controls

Authorities banned funeral wakes on Friday across the affected area. Officials also stopped gatherings of more than 50 people. The measures aimed to slow the Ebola outbreak in Congo. The World Health Organisation said the national risk level was now "very high\". WHO added that global spread risk stayed low.

Burials became a key source of tension in the Ebola outbreak in Congo. Bodies of Ebola victims can remain highly infectious. Infection can spread during washing and funeral rituals. Authorities tried to handle safe burials where possible. Families and friends sometimes protested against limits on traditional practices.

On Saturday, a burial for Ebola patients in Bunia took place with heavy security. Bunia lies within the outbreak zone in Ituri province. Officials reported strained relations between health workers and local residents. The security presence reflected fears of unrest. It also showed concerns about infection control during funerals.

Ebola outbreak in Congo: numbers and WHO warning

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday that 82 cases and seven deaths were confirmed. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added the outbreak was believed to be larger. Surveillance teams were still expanding their work. Officials expected more reports as tracking improved across Ituri province.

Health teams linked the outbreak to the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola type. There is no available vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus. The virus spread undetected for weeks in Ituri. Early tests looked for another, more common Ebola strain. Those tests were negative after the first known death.

Officials recorded 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The figures could rise as case finding grows. Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said trust mattered. Dr Jean Kaseya said the response must include building trust with communities.

Ebola outbreak in Congo: attacks on treatment centres

The Mongbwalu fire followed another attack earlier in the week. On Thursday, a treatment centre in Rwampara was burned down. Reports said the incident followed a dispute over a body. Family members were barred from collecting the body of a local man. Such restrictions can trigger anger and protests.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Saturday that three volunteers died in Mongbwalu. The agency said it believed the workers were infected on March 27. The infections happened during dead body management activities. The mission was described as unrelated to Ebola.

The reported March 27 exposure could shift the outbreak timeline. It would place infections weeks before the earlier reference point. Authorities had previously linked the first confirmed death to late April. That death was in Bunia, the capital of Ituri. Officials continued to assess how far the virus had spread.

With inputs from PTI