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Attacks from suspicious residents complicate the fight against a rare type of Ebola
The outbreak has spread amid distrust, with 3 volunteers and a doctor reported dead and health centers burned in repeated attacks, officials said.
- On May 25, locals attacked Mongbwalu hospital overnight demanding the body of a deceased Catholic religious leader, with young men storming the facility four times on May 24 and forcing medical staff to evacuate Ebola patients as gunfire rang out.
- Hastily arranged burials have sparked suspicion in a region already distrustful of the state, as traditional burial practices involve loved ones touching corpses and organizing mourning rituals that increase contamination, civil society leader Jean Marie Ezadri of Ituri told AFP last week.
- The outbreak now totals over 900 suspected cases and more than 220 deaths, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Monday, involving the rare Bundibugyo strain with no vaccine or treatment available in a region where clinics run on generators.
- Trust is almost as important as health response because massive community distrust prevents people from seeking care at health centers, said Heather Kerr, country director for International Rescue Committee in Congo, while unknown numbers of health workers have been infected.
- Ituri's isolation—poorly served by roads and ravaged by decades of armed conflict—compounds response challenges, and Red Cross volunteers' deaths in March potentially indicate the outbreak began weeks earlier than the late April first confirmed death.
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The rare Ebola outbreak is one danger. Attacks on healthcare workers are another.
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The Rare Ebola Outbreak Is One Danger. Attacks on Healthcare Workers ...
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The rare Ebola outbreak is one danger; attacks on healthcare workers are another
Health workers responding to a rapidly spreading outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in eastern Congo face two threats. They risk contracting the virus and encounter hostility from wary locals.
·Johnstown, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources52
Leaning Left18Leaning Right5Center19Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
45% Center
L 43%
C 45%
12%
Factuality
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