Ebola viruses are among the most dangerous pathogens in the world. More than 600 people have already died of the disease in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. So far, in the province of North Kivu 960 people have been infected with the highly dangerous virus, said the Congolese Ministry of Health. Around 300 people recovered after treatment under the strictest safety precautions.
Since August, more than 90,000 people in the region have received an experimental vaccine against Ebola, the ministry said.
The number of new infections has recently declined significantly. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) hopes to bring the epidemic under control within the next six months. The outbreak in northern Kivu is the second most serious of the dangerous diseases so far. In the most serious epidemic in West Africa, more than 11,000 people lost their lives in 2014/2015.
Distrust of the helpers
In the unstable area in the east of the country several armed groups are active, many places are therefore not accessible to helpers. The population is also hostile to the helpers in many places.
Among other things, this is due to a long-standing mistrust of the authorities and the fact that helpers sometimes act militarily because of the precarious security situation.
According to Doctors Without Borders, in February, an attack on an Ebola treatment center in Butembo, eastern Democratic Republic, occurred. According to the country's Ministry of Health, several patients fled the attackers.
"This attack has not only endangered the lives of Ebola patients and their families, but also those of MSF and the Ministry of Health," Hugues Robert criticized by MSF. The armed attackers had delivered a firefight with security forces.