Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo say assaults on Ebola response teams are complicating efforts to contain the latest outbreak as infections continue to spread across several provinces.
One of the incidents occurred on Monday in Katana, a town in South Kivu Province controlled by AFC/M23 rebels, where residents attacked a specialised Ebola burial team responsible for conducting safe and dignified burials under strict health protocols.
According to the health ministry, the attack forced the team to abandon a coffin, after which members of the community handled the body themselves.
Health officials warned that such practices pose a significant risk because Ebola victims can remain highly infectious after death, increasing the possibility of new chains of transmission.
Neither the health ministry nor local hospital officials disclosed what prompted the attack.
The incident highlights the mistrust and resistance that continue to hinder response efforts as authorities work to contain the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
Officials said burial teams and health workers have come under attack in recent weeks, including from relatives of victims who have questioned the cause of death.
In a similar incident on Monday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province where the first cases of the Bundibugyo strain were confirmed, residents reportedly assaulted an Ebola response team at a cemetery.
According to health officials, at least four people were injured during that attack.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded about 363 confirmed Ebola cases and about 62 deaths since the latest outbreak was declared on May 15.
The most recent update from the health ministry reported at least 19 new confirmed infections, including two deaths.
Authorities said cases have now been recorded in 17 of the 36 health zones in Ituri Province.
Additional infections have also been reported in seven health zones in North Kivu Province and one health zone in South Kivu Province.
Despite the challenges, officials noted some positive developments in the response effort.
The health ministry said about 32 individuals identified as contacts of Ebola patients in Rwampara, Ituri Province, completed 21 days of monitoring and were found not to have contracted the virus.
Authorities also announced plans to discharge a recovered Ebola patient in the city of Goma, located in North Kivu Province.
Freddy Kaniki, deputy coordinator of the AFC/M23 rebels, later said the recovered patient had been reunited with family members.
The current outbreak is the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ojo Triumph
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