Villagers from eastern Congo kill Ebola health worker and looting clinic

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A crowd in eastern Congo has killed an Ebola health worker and looted a clinic, Health Ministry said Tuesday that public confidence is hampering efforts to contain the deadly virus.

Attacks on treatment centers by armed groups and mistrust of residents who view the disease as a conspiracy have become major obstacles to controlling the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to the ministry's latest statistics, the haemorrhagic fever has already killed 1,281 people and shows no sign of slowing its spread, with dozens of new cases per week.

The ministry said on Saturday that residents of Vusahiro village, Mabalako district, "stood up and attacked the local Ebola Response Team, made up of village residents trained to carry out some of the response activities. ".

A hygienist from the infection prevention and control team died of his injuries when he was transferred to the hospital, he added.

Stakeholders, health professionals and community members are increasingly threatened by armed groups in sensitive areas such as Katwa and Butembo, according to the World Health Organization, complicating efforts to contain Ebola.

US officials say that in order to stop targeted attacks against health workers, the deeply rooted political problems in eastern Congo must be resolved. The dialogue has led to a recent reduction in large-scale attacks against health workers, chief of emergency medicine Mike Ryan told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

Still a difficult battle. According to WHO figures of 3 May, between the beginning of January and the beginning of May, there were 42 attacks on health facilities, involving 85 workers injured or killed.

Health workers have been attacked six times over the last eight days, said Tuesday the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the closing session of the World Health Assembly, held in Geneva.

"These attacks demonstrate that the current Ebola outbreak is more than a health crisis," he said. "To end it requires a coordinated and strengthened effort across the American system … with strong government leadership."