Attackers kill nurse, severely injure health worker responding to Ebola case in eastern Congo

BUTEMBO, Congo (AP) — A nurse was killed and a health worker severely injured after being attacked while responding to an Ebola alert in Congo, according to the World Health Organization.

It was the latest in a series of attacks on health workers and responders that authorities say is hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world.

The attack took place Saturday in the town of Bafwasende in the country’s eastern Tshopo province, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday.

“Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected,” he said.

WHO regional director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, also condemned the attack on X. “Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence,” he said.

Local authorities have not yet commented on the attack or the suspects.

The country’s health ministry’s most recent data indicates more than 9,800 cases including more than 4,700 deaths have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in May, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo’s history.

Last month, a Congolese politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola. He had been calling on the public to obey response measures, particularly social distancing and handwashing, on a radio show.

It came after authorities launched a village-centered approach to fight the outbreak which faced resistance from some residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax. There is widespread distrust of the country’s government because of how it has managed past Ebola outbreaks as well as chronic corruption.

Responders say skepticism about the disease among communities has complicated efforts to work with residents, including in remote areas and emerging hot spots that already face shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers.

Back in May at the start of the outbreak, two tents at health centers were set alight in two separate attacks in just one week by angry residents.

Those on the front line of the response to the outbreak have previously said some members of various response teams have been held captive in some health zones, and some teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened.