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Efforts to contain the Ebola epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are complicated by geographic dispersion and increasing suspicion of foreigners struggling against the epidemic. Epidemic, said Friday the Red Cross.
Since the outbreak of the deadly virus was declared on 1 August in North Kivu province, DRC health authorities have documented 137 confirmed or probable cases, including 92 deaths.
Last week, Kinshasa said the epidemic was "under control" as the speed of transmission slowed considerably since mid-August.
But while the number of cases and deaths is not rising, the Red Cross disaster officer warned that the increasing geographical spread of cases, as well as the growing resistance of the community, were extremely worrying.
"This has not been geographically contained.It is a huge challenge," Pascale Meige told AFP during a phone interview after a visit to the affected areas.
The epicenter of the epidemic remains in Mabalako and Beni in North Kivu, but six other areas of the province have also been affected, as well as one in Ituri, according to the World Health Organization.
The recent spread of the Ebola virus in Butembo, North Kivu, an important commercial center of one million people, is of particular concern because it is close to Goma, a large border town in Rwanda.
"Risk of spread"
"The risks are really high in terms of spread," Meige said.
She also warned that rumors were spreading in affected communities that were hampering efforts to stem the epidemic, including that Ebola was a hoax to enrich foreign health workers or a political ploy related to the impending elections in the DRC. .
"The level of mistrust is extremely high," said Meige, head of disaster and crisis management at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
She praised the "extremely sophisticated response" adopted up to here by the DRC Ministry of Health, the WHO and others, but warned that whenever a case arises in a new place, these efforts must be duplicated.
The response includes hand-washing stations, campaigns to prompt patients to seek treatment, and unremitting efforts to track and vaccinate anyone who has been in contact with Ebola patients, as well as their contacts.
The IFRC is an essential part of the response by ensuring that the highly infectious bodies of people who die of Ebola are buried in a safe and dignified way.
"The systems are in place and are very impressive," Meige said.
"Spread mistrust"
But she said the increasing geographical spread meant that it was increasingly difficult to stifle damaging rumors or face significant resistance from the community to allow strangers to organize funerals.
There were "a number of incidents" where the IFRC teams were attacked with stones and chased away, she added.
In one case in Butembo, the family of the deceased had agreed to allow a team from the International Federation to bury his loved one, but the community revolted.
People tore the body from the coffin, said Meige, adding that fortunately, Ebola was not the cause of death.
As of Thursday, the IFRC teams had conducted 126 "dignified and dignified burials" in cases where people had been confirmed or suspected of dying of Ebola.
But Meige said that there were 22 such cases where the organization's teams had not been able to conduct burials, mainly because of resistance from the community or the community. lack of access to security issues.
"At first, there was this concept of small pockets of resistance here and there," she said.
"Now, what we're seeing is that it's a much bigger problem." Mistrust is spreading.
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