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KINSHASA, Congo – More than 1,000 people have died of Ebola in eastern Congo since August, the country's health minister said on Friday, the worst epidemic of the disease in the country's history. West Africa in 2014-2016, which killed more than 11,300.
The record came as hostility to health workers continued to hamper efforts to contain the virus.
Health Minister Oly Ilunga said four deaths in the center of the epidemic, Katwa, had brought the death toll to 1,008. Two more deaths have been reported in the town of Butembo. The outbreak was declared almost nine months ago.
The unstable security situation and deep distrust of the community hampered efforts to control the spread of the disease in eastern Congo. The Ebola treatment centers have been attacked several times, leaving government health officials to run clinics in hot spots like Butembo and Katwa.
International humanitarian organizations have stopped working in both communities because of the violence. A Cameroonian epidemiologist working for the World Health Organization was killed last month during an assault on a hospital in Butembo.
Insecurity has become a "major hurdle" in controlling the Ebola outbreak, told reporters Michael Ryan, chief of health emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva.
He said 119 attacks had been recorded since January, including 42 against health facilities, and that 85 health workers had been injured or killed. Dozens of rebel groups operate in the region and political rivalries have been one of the factors behind the rejection of health workers by the community.
"Whenever we managed to regain control of the virus and contain its spread, we faced serious security problems," Ryan said. His organization "anticipated a scenario of continuous and intense transmission" of the disease, he added.
The Ebola virus can spread quickly and kill up to 90% of cases. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches and sometimes internal and external bleeding. They can begin to appear between two and 21 days after infection.
The organization said that the most recent Ebola outbreak had remained contained in eastern Congo, while the number of cases had increased in a dense and highly mobile population near the border with Uganda and Rwanda. Many people are afraid to go to Ebola treatment centers, preferring to stay at home and risk transmitting the disease to guards and neighbors.
The people of Butembo, very unstable, believe that the Ebola virus has been voluntarily introduced into the city. In the midst of rumors and misunderstandings, health workers have struggled to explain the importance of safe burials and other preventive measures. One in four people surveyed in eastern Congo a month after the beginning of the epidemic mistakenly believed that the Ebola virus was not real.
"I am deeply saddened to learn that the number of deaths from Ebola has exceeded 1,000," said 24-year-old Vianney Musavuli. "The problem is that people in this region believe that the Ebola virus is a political affair, and that's why locals are still attacking retaliatory teams."
Residents were prevented from taking part in a presidential election in January, with the Congolese government citing security concerns. Some wondered why money was being invested in the fight against the Ebola virus as more people each year died of malaria and other preventable diseases.
Insecurity has also prevented vaccination teams from visiting certain areas, further limiting the health response. Yet more than 109,000 people have received an experimental but effective vaccine against the Ebola virus. Ryan said the authorities were planning to introduce another one.
He called for increased aid from Congo and other countries to fill an "urgent urgent deficit" of some $ 54 million in containment funds.
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