Congolese burial teams battle Ebola outbreak amid fear and conflict
In Bunia and Katana, Ebola burial crews were met with fear and attacks as Congo's 17th outbreak spread through conflict-hit eastern provinces.
Residents in Katana, South Kivu province, attacked an Ebola burial team and forced responders to abandon a coffin. A clash in Bunia left at least four people injured, even as Red Cross volunteers carried out burials and community awareness sessions in one of the affected health zones.
The current outbreak was declared on May 15 after laboratory confirmation of Bundibugyo virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two days later, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola event in the DRC and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. By May 21, WHO had counted 746 suspected cases and 176 deaths among suspected cases in the DRC, along with 85 confirmed cases and 10 deaths across both countries, with transmission concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. An American national working in the DRC tested positive and was transferred to Germany for care.
The burial work is among the most dangerous tasks in the response because Ebola bodies remain highly contagious and funerals can turn into high-transmission events. In Bunia, Red Cross volunteers wore full protective equipment, disinfected bodies, took oral swabs, placed remains in body bags and coffins, and carried out burials while trying to preserve dignity.
Staff shortages, supply gaps, insecurity, displacement and active conflict have amplified the mistrust across the affected area. WHO has paired the response with rapid response teams, surveillance, laboratory confirmation, infection prevention and control, treatment centers and community engagement, while Red Cross workers try to persuade grieving families to accept safer funerals. The outbreak is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC.
On June 12, U.S. officials committed more than $270 million in direct Ebola response funding and planned to provide $50 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for Bundibugyo countermeasures.
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