Ebola Epidemic in Congo Sparks Wave of Riots: Attacks on Medical Workers, Death Toll Rising

More than 2,500 people have died from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The epidemic is spreading rapidly across a territory exceeding the area of France.

As reported by Reuters, this was stated by the United Nations (UN) Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis.

Speaking via video link from the city of Bunia in the northeast of the DRC, Harneis called for increased aid. According to him, the available funds will run out in the coming weeks. Medical workers are being attacked by local residents who are frightened and angered by the outbreak, while they themselves are becoming infected and dying from the disease.

As a reminder, the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC became the largest in the country's history by the number of cases as early as late July, surpassing the previous most severe epidemic of 2018–2020. It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, against which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

"The Ebola outbreak is growing exponentially," Harneis said. "The epidemic is spreading across a territory larger than France and is developing faster and wider than the response measures. And all of this is happening in an area where conflict has been ongoing for three decades and where humanitarian needs are enormous."

According to his data, 160 medical workers have fallen ill, 43 of whom have died. "And when we respond to the outbreak, in addition to the threat of the virus, medics and frontline workers are attacked by young people, ambulances are burned and pelted with stones, and medical facilities are attacked," said the UN Ebola Coordinator. "Fear turns into anger among young people who start throwing stones at the object of their fear — the ambulance."

Other humanitarian workers noted that local residents believe in conspiracy theories that the outbreak is a hoax and react aggressively when sanitary restrictions prevent them from burying their loved ones themselves. Over the past six months, there have been more than 260 attacks on medical workers, eight of whom were killed. "This is obviously terrifying, because people are already risking their lives fighting Ebola," Harneis emphasized.