AN OUTBREAK of a rare strain of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading rapidly. Fear and unrest among communities and families of victims have sparked attacks on hospitals and treatment centres.
Crowds set fire to tents when they were prevented from taking away the bodies of suspected victims. Bodies of victims are highly contagious and can lead to the spread of infection when they are prepared for burial.
One of those who had died was reported to be a senior member of the Roman Catholic community. Protesters had demanded that his body be returned for traditional burial, which would involve washing and touching the body.
The outbreak is concentrated in the remote but densely populated Ituri province of the DRC (News, 22 May). It was confirmed two weeks ago to be the 17th Ebola-virus outbreak in the country, confirmed as the Bundibugyo strain, not seen for more than a decade and against which no vaccines are effective.
A total of 906 suspected cases and more than 220 deaths had been recorded at the time of going to press. In Uganda, there had been seven cases and one confirmed death in this outbreak.
A US citizen who contracted the disease after caring for patients in the DRC is being treated in Germany. Three Red Cross volunteers died in early May after working at the epicentre of the outbreak.
Serge, an international Christian organisation, confirmed on Sunday that a US medical missionary, Dr Patrick LaRochelle, 46, remained asymptomatic in a Prague hospital where he had been isolated after high-risk exposure to the virus while he was working in Bunia Hospital, in the DRC.
Last weekend, the World Health Organization raised the public health risk from the virus in the DRC to “very high”. The UN has warned that the strain is spreading faster than it can be contained.
Tearfund has launched an urgent appeal. The charity’s country director, Poppy Anguandia, said this week: “The numbers are growing and timing is critical. The outbreak is situated in a densely populated region characterised by high levels of internal and cross border migration. All the dominoes are set for a major disaster.”
The advocacy of faith leaders was critical, she said. “Faith leaders are standing in the gap between medical institutions and communities.”
World Vision has rapidly upscaled its humanitarian response in the country, implementing safe latrines, water points, and hand-washing stations, as well as engaging in community work and education.
Its national director for the DRC, Philippe Guiton, said: “For children, the risks are especially acute. Years of conflict have weakened community systems, and acute malnutrition has left many young bodies too fragile to withstand a virus as aggressive as Ebola. This outbreak is not happening in isolation. It is unfolding in a province already stretched to its limits.”
The BBC reports that the governor of Ituri province has banned gatherings of more than 50 people and suspended funeral wakes — but local media posted videos of dozens of people attending mass on Sunday, albeit with reports of hand-washing and the use of hand-sanitiser.
Jacob Ngasha told Africa News: “We are aware of the illness and we are doing our best to protect ourselves. But we cannot ignore God’s presence in our lives. That is why we have to come pray here.”
A priest from the DRC who is seeking asylum in the UK, the Revd Jean Gisore, is seeking to draw attention to the work of churches in the diocese of Bukavu, where the outbreak is active. He said that the churches needed help to install sanitation facilities to protect worshippers. His son is a doctor caring for Ebola patients at Panzi Hospital, Bukavu.
Mr Gisore belongs to the Banyamulenge people, who have close links to the Rwandan Tutsi population massacred in the Rwandan genocide and have been subjected to waves of violence and discrimination in the DRC (News 5 December 2025). Churches in Hull, where he lives, were praying for their brothers and sisters in the DRC, he said.