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BENI, Congo (AP) – The attackers stormed a hospital located at the center of the Ebola epidemic in Congo and killed "a dear colleague," said Friday at the head of the World Health Organization the recent organization against health workers who were trying to contain the virus.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an article posted on Twitter that other people were injured in Friday's attack in Butembo, a town in eastern Congo.
"We are outraged," he said.
The series of deadly attacks perpetrated against health centers in Butembo and elsewhere, which disrupted medical care and vaccination efforts, hindered the planet's response to the second most serious Ebola outbreak. murderous of history.
Butembo's deputy mayor, Patrick Kambale Tsiko, called the badbadinated WHO staff member a doctor from Cameroon and blamed the attack on a group of militiamen. He added that the militia mistakenly believed that foreigners had brought the disease with them to the Congo.
"According to witnesses on the spot, these militiamen wanted all the expatriates to go home because, according to them, Ebola does not exist in Butembo," Tsiko said. "They said they would continue if these expats did not return as soon as possible."
Police were pursuing the attackers, said Tsiko.
The Ministry of Health of Congo has confirmed the badault on the hospital of the Catholic University of Graben. An aid group, the International Rescue Committee, said the hospital contained only patients who had not contracted the Ebola virus and that many of them fled during the attack.
Dozens of rebel groups are active in eastern Congo. One community has also resisted efforts to combat the Ebola virus in a traumatized and suspicious region that had never faced an epidemic of the virus.
The Ebola virus can spread quickly and can be fatal in 90% of cases. Haemorrhagic fever is most often transmitted through close contact with the body fluids of people with symptoms or with objects such as contaminated sheets.
Minister of Health Dr. Oly Ilunga said in a tweet that local and international health workers were bravely fighting the virus, "sometimes at the cost of their lives".
The attack took place three days after President Felix Tshisekedi's visit to the Ebola outbreak area, which promised to strengthen the military and police protection of health workers and to seek the cooperation of local residents. The president hoped to see the outbreak contained in less than three months, although some health experts believe that it could take much longer.
Robert Kitchen, vice president in charge of emergencies at the International Rescue Committee, predicted that "it would take at least a year to contain the Ebola outbreak without a significant change in the" l '. commitment and understanding of the community ". He added that such attacks against health workers are becoming more commonplace.
This month could see the highest rate of Ebola virus transmission ever, Kitchen said, adding that "the trajectory of this epidemic is alarming."
Since the outbreak of Ebola outbreak in Congo in August, there have been more than 1,300 confirmed and probable cases, including 843 deaths, said Thursday the Ministry of Health.
More than 102,000 people have received an experimental but effective Ebola vaccine.
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Anna brought back from Johannesburg.
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