Mourners Bury 6-Month-Old Ebola Victim in Eastern Congo

Mourners gathered Friday in Bunia to bury a 6-month-old girl who died from Ebola earlier this week, the third child to die at an orphanage in eastern Congo. Carrying a cross, people stood at a distance as masked and gloved health workers lowered the small coffin into the ground while a Catholic priest prayed over the body.

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Ndogo said the burial brought sadness because the community had lost one of its own. He added that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Only health workers in protective gear handled the coffin, reflecting the impersonal nature of safe burial practices required during the outbreak.

Ituri province has recorded more than 90 percent of the cases. The outbreak has also reached North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and crossed into Uganda, where officials report 19 confirmed cases and two deaths. Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the current outbreak carries risks for 35,000 suspected contacts.

The Bundibugyo strain has no approved treatment or vaccine, and health workers have reported shortages of masks, gloves, and other protective equipment. Alex Lock, a communications officer at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, urged residents not to become indifferent, noting the victim was a baby who had her whole life ahead of her.