Attackers kill nurse, injure health worker responding to DRC Ebola case

A nurse has been killed and another health worker severely injured after they were attacked while responding to an Ebola alert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the World Health Organization.

It was the latest in a series of attacks on health workers and responders that authorities say is hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world.

The attack took place on Saturday in the town of Bafwasende in the DRC’s eastern Tshopo province, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected,” he said.

The WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, also condemned the attack on X.

“Health is NOT a target,” he said. “Those responding to the Ebola outbreak must be protected. Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence.”

Local authorities have not yet commented on the attack or the suspects.

Data from the DRC’s Ministry of Health indicate that more than 9,800 cases, including more than 4,700 deaths, have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in May, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history.

The government’s handling of the outbreak, combined with chronic corruption, has sown widespread distrust, with some even dismissing Ebola as a hoax.

Responders say scepticism about the disease among communities has complicated their efforts, including in remote areas and emerging hotspots already facing shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers.

Last month, a DRC politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola. He had called on the public to obey response measures, particularly social distancing and hand-washing, on a radio show.

In May, at the start of the outbreak, angry residents set alight two tents at health centres in two separate attacks in just one week.

Responders say some residents have held captive or threatened team members in designated health zones.

The current outbreak has now been reported in four countries across eastern, central ⁠⁠and western Africa, giving it the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent to date.

On Sunday, Uganda’s Minister of Health Chris Baryomunsi announced that all citizens returning to the country with a history of travel to the DRC will be quarantined for 21 days.

Uganda says it is ⁠Ebola-free after declaring an end to its latest outbreak in July. But health experts remain on alert after two people who had recently passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people.

The strain responsible for the current outbreak, known as Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, according to the WHO. In an October 23 update, it urged stronger monitoring and cooperation across borders, while advising against restrictions on travel or trade with affected countries.