DR Congo Ebola Outbreak Kills Over 170 as Attacks Hit Treatment Centers

More than 170 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died from Ebola in the current outbreak, BBC News reported. More than 140 of those deaths occurred in Ituri province from the Bundibugyo species. The outbreak was first declared just over a month ago.

Health officials said the virus may have spread undetected for months before confirmation. Daniel Kitambala, a 49-year-old subsistence farmer, was discharged from the Ebola treatment centre in Mongbwalu on Friday after two negative tests. He spent about three weeks at the facility.

"That disease is terrible. I was feeling very ill [when I came here]. But God is great, I am well now," Kitambala said. He said he became infected after going to pray for an unwell person in his community and initially tried traditional medicine before seeking hospital care.

Health workers in green scrubs sang songs of praise as they escorted Kitambala out of the clinic just after midday. He raised his hands three times in a victory salute while thanking staff. Pastor Deogratias Kasereka, 55, became the first Ebola patient to leave the Mongbwalu centre a week earlier.

Dr Richard Lukodu, the hospital's medical director, said community trust has improved since the first recoveries. "We have seen a huge difference in the community since the first patient recovered and returned home," Lukodu said. " On 21 May, a tent set up to treat Ebola patients in the grounds of Mongbwalu hospital was set on fire.

A treatment centre in Rwampara was set on fire two days later. Myths about Ebola had circulated since February, three months before the outbreak was confirmed. " "The situation was bad. Many people died," said Sesereki Mandro Israel, Mongbwalu's mayor.