Ebola patients who fled hospital set on fire by families ‘now evading treatment’

At least 18 people possibly infected with Ebola fled hospital after it was attacked multiple times by grieving families.

At least 220 people have died of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo since an outbreak was declared earlier this month.

Attacks by residents on makeshift hospitals in Ituri province, the centre of the outbreak, have risen in the last week.

Some 18 Ebola patients escaped Mongbwalu general referral hospital on Saturday as people burnt tents set up by Médecins Sans Frontières.

Of them, four lab cases have come back; three were negative and one was positive.

Dr Richard Lokodu, medical director of the facility, told Reuters: ‘We have one confirmed case of Ebola that continues to circulate in the community and evade the response.’

He added that the hospital was attacked four times on Sunday in attacks plotted by the family of a Christian religious leader who died of Ebola.

A suspected patient who was in critical condition died in the second attack while trying to flee from his bed.

The attackers, Dr Lokodu said, wanted to take the bodies of the Ebola victims by force for burial.

Ebola can be contracted through contact with the bodily fluids of a dead person; the virus has spread during mourning and funeral proceedings in previous outbreaks.

A similar incident happened last Thursday, which saw a grieving family burn hospital tents down in Rwampara Hospital after medical professionals refused to release a young footballer’s body.

Local officials say the attacks are down to a lack of awareness, with some seeing Ebola as a ‘white man’s invention’ or a cash-grab by hospitals.

Ebola outbreak ‘outpacing’ response

The Ebola epidemic is now outpacing health officials and aid groups, ​the head of the World Health Organization said today.

WHO’s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told African leaders today: ‘We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us.’

Neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, bringing its total number of cases to seven, Dr Ghebreyesus added.

The new cases are both Ugandan health workers in a private health facility in the capital, Kampala.

He said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now ‘playing catch-up’.

The type of Ebola virus behind the outbreak, known as Bundibugyo, is rare. There is no vaccine or approved treatment.

The first known case involved a healthcare worker whose symptoms began on April 24 and who later died at a medical facility in Bunia.

The hotspots are Rwampara, Mongbwalu, Nyankunde and Bunia in Ituri. The province is popular among migrating labourers for its gold mines, while many civilians have been displaced by conflict.

Cases have also been reported in North Kivu. M23, a rebel group that controls territory in eastern Congo, confirmed a death in South Kivu.

While the US has cautioned Americans against visiting the DRC, the UK Foreign Office only advises against travel to the border of Likouala.

Uganda has restricted travel to and from Congo and suspended all flights to and from the country. 

As test results continue to come in, health officials expect this number to rise to as many as 1,000 – if it’s not already that high.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is an illness caused by a group of related viruses, known as orthoebolaviruses.

Infections come in two parts – dry and wet.

The so-called dry symptoms, which include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, can progress to ‘wet’ ones such as diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding.

As the first round of symptoms, which show within 21 days, resemble the common cold or flu, many Ebola cases go undiagnosed.

Ebola is mainly spread through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected, sick or dead person, or contaminated objects like clothing.

It does not spread through particles that linger in the air. Instead, infected fluid must directly enter the body through an opening, like the mouth.

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