The hijacked hearse: Dispatches from the Ebola outbreak in the DRC

As the Ebola virus continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the government releases daily updates. These press releases are primarily a narrative of facts and figures: The total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak was declared between August 1 and 165 starting Friday. The number of dead – 90 people. The number of people who received an experimental vaccine – 15,807. And a summary of the latest efforts of stakeholders to reach the affected communities.

But despite all the dry talk of these dispatches, they occasionally offer a startling glimpse of a tumultuous, high-stakes drama that is played out almost daily as health workers and burial teams without risk seek to gain communities that are deeply suspicious of their intentions. .

The stories speak of tense negotiations with village chiefs and patients who refuse treatment and escape – they will only be found a few days later, on the verge of death, in a city several hours away.

Then comes Friday's release, which includes such a compelling story that we have translated it here from the original French (and modified it slightly for clarity).

On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, members of the community stole the body of a dead woman at the Beni Ebola treatment center while she was going to the cemetery. When the woman died, the family asked the intervention team to make concessions regarding the burial ceremony of the deceased. In particular, they requested that the hearse be driven by one of their acquaintances and that five members of the family receive personal protective equipment that allows them to carry the casket. The intervention team accepted this request provided that the funeral procession was followed by a police vehicle.

But as the procession made its way to the cemetery, the hearse driver suddenly changed course. The driver drove with the casket to a family plot located in Butsili District, Beni, instead of the official cemetery, where the burial could proceed more safely. The police continued to follow. But once the procession reached the family plot, several young people from a neighboring neighborhood violently chased the police.

Before the end of the day, young people and family members panicked. They understood that it would be a mistake to bury the body in the family plot. They then returned the body to the official cemetery and the five family members wearing personal protective equipment then buried the deceased as originally planned.

The next day, several family members voluntarily went to the hospital for Ebola shots. They guaranteed that no one had directly manipulated the body of the deceased at any time between his exit from the Ebola treatment center and his burial in the cemetery. They said that neither the casket nor the mortuary bag had been opened.

In addition, residents of the family-run neighborhood of Butsili held a special meeting on Thursday in a local office. They apologized to the Ebola response team and promised that they would no longer allow such a situation to recur.

Copyright NPR 2018.