An Ebola center is burned in Congo as fear and anger grows over outbreak
An Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo was set on fire by local youths amid rising fear and anger over the outbreak. The incident highlights the difficulties faced by health workers in enforcing burial protocols that conflict with local customs. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency, with concerns about its rapid spread in the region.
- ▪Local youths burned an Ebola treatment center after being prevented from retrieving a friend's body.
- ▪The outbreak has led to 148 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases, according to the U.N.
- ▪The World Health Organization has expressed concern that the outbreak is likely larger than reported.
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Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday. AP-YonhapBUNIA, Congo — People set fire to an Ebola treatment center in a town at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo on Thursday after being stopped from retrieving the body of a local man, a witness and a senior police officer said, as fear and anger grow over a health crisis that doctors are struggling to contain.The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites.
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