‘Perfect storm’ in outbreak

The struggle to contain the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a perfect storm of challenges, including rebel violence and pre-election manipulation, the UN said on Tuesday.

Attacks by armed opposition groups in North Kivu province hit by the outbreak have risen in recent weeks, including a deadly raid in the town of Beni that forced the World Health Organisation to suspend its work, the agency’s emergency response chief, Peter Salama, said.

Meanwhile, pre-existing fears and misconceptions about the virus are being exploited by politicians ahead of DRC’s highly contentious December vote, leading to increased mistrust of health workers among the population, Salama said.

“We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together over the next weeks to months to create a perfect storm,” he said.

“The response at this stage is at a critical juncture.”

Uganda was now also facing “an imminent threat”.

The outbreak has killed 100 people since being declared on August 1 in the eastern part of North Kivu, the WHO said.

The Congolese army has blamed Islamist rebel unit Allied Democratic Forces for the Saturday attack in the flashpoint town of Beni that killed at least 21 people.