An angry crowd set fire to isolation tents at Rwampara General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday after being prevented from taking the body of a man suspected to have died from Ebola.
Local politician Luc Malembe Malembe told the BBC that protesters threw projectiles at the hospital and burned tents used to isolate patients. Police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Authorities said the body of an Ebola victim is highly infectious and must be buried by trained teams to prevent further spread. Medical workers at the hospital near Bunia in Ituri Province were placed under military protection following the incident. A healthcare worker was injured by stones before security forces intervened, according to a hospital worker cited by AFP.
The man who died was well known locally, and many in the crowd did not believe his death was caused by Ebola, said Jean Claude Mukendi, who is coordinating the security response in Ituri. Witnesses told Reuters the victim was a footballer, and his mother said she believed he died of typhoid fever.
Malembe said some residents view Ebola as a fabrication by outsiders and distrust health workers and aid groups. “People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening,” he told the BBC. “For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders.”
Two tents and a body due for burial were burned in the attack, he added. Six patients were being treated in the tents at the time, but medical charity Alima said all were accounted for and were receiving care at the hospital.
The unrest comes as DR Congo battles an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, with most cases and deaths reported in Ituri Province. The World Health Organization said 139 people were thought to have died out of 600 suspected cases as of Wednesday. Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba later put the death toll at 159.
Congolese Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner said authorities were increasing outreach in affected areas to address mistrust and ensure communities feel safe and informed. The WHO recommends safe and dignified burials for Ebola victims using protective equipment.
DR Congo’s national football team has canceled its pre-World Cup training camp in Kinshasa due to the outbreak. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighboring Uganda, which has suspended some cross-border transport.
The WHO has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern but said it has not reached pandemic level. There is currently no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain, and the WHO estimates it could take up to nine months to develop one.
