Risk of Ebola spread in Congo ‘very high’
JOHANNESBURG — The World Health Organization has announced that Congo’s latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus isn’t yet considered a global health emergency.
Some aid groups expressed alarm when the rate of new cases more than doubled this month.
With the area compared to a war zone, resistance to health workers sometimes turning violent and confirmed cases found near the heavily travelled Ugandan border, the risk of regional spread is “very high.”
Multiple rebel groups are active in Congo’s far northeast and they’ve killed hundreds of people in recent years.
Attacks in Beni, the centre of Ebola containment efforts, have led to a traumatized population that can be wary of outsiders. A “dead city” strike in Beni to protest one attack forced Ebola work to be suspended for a few days, with worrying results.
Congo’s health ministry said the crucial work of finding and monitoring suspected contacts of Ebola victims is lower in Beni than elsewhere, increasing the risk of the virus spreading.
Health workers describe being accompanied by armed guards from the UN peacekeeping mission or Congolese security forces.
“When we arrived at the airport, we noticed that the area is heavily militarized,” said Dr. Marie Claire Kolie with ALIMA (Alliance For International Medical Action). “It scared me a little, I must say. But ... we can’t just leave these people.”