Attacks on Health Facilities and Health-Worker Strikes Disrupt Ebola Response in Congo

Attacks on health facilities and workers during Congo's Ebola outbreak in Ituri province have raised safety fears and restricted response operations in the region that accounts for around 90 percent of cases, @ABC reported. Many attacks involved angry mobs storming treatment centers or targeting response teams in the field, Pierre Akilimali, incident manager for the Ebola response, said at a Saturday briefing in Bunia.

Many health workers and frontline staff in the province have also gone on strike over unpaid salaries. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment. So far 2,181 cases and 864 deaths have been recorded, @ABC reported.

Dr. Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response, said members of various teams have been held captive in some health zones. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened in cemeteries and communities.

The most recent attack occurred Wednesday in the town of Nyakunde, where residents attacked a hospital and touched a nearby Ebola treatment center. Treatment and care resumed Thursday after occupants fled. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said humanitarian actors are deeply concerned by escalating violence and that access to treatment centers remains constrained.

The worsening security situation has forced several partners to temporarily relocate staff to Bunia. Christophe Munyanderu, a civil society leader in Ituri’s Irumu territory, said he fears aid workers combating the outbreak will leave the area.