The fight against the spread of Ebola in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is significantly complicated by misinformation. Many locals deny the existence of the virus or believe that drinking strong alcohol will protect them. Fighting between the army and rebels from the March 23 Movement (M23) also continues there. TASR informs about this according to Tuesday’s reports of the agencies DPA and AFP.
- Misinformation and denial of the existence of Ebola hinder the effective fight against the disease.
- In the province of Ituri, up to a third of local residents consider Ebola to be a myth.
- Myths about Ebola sparked an attack on a hospital and the burning of an isolation tent.
- M23 rebels attack army airfield with mortars and use drones.
- The Bundibugyo variant outbreak has caused hundreds of deaths and has no vaccine available.
ActionAid: We’re not just fighting the virus, we’re fighting myths and fear
In the epicenter of the pandemic (Ituri province), up to a third of people consider Ebola to be a myth, ActionAid has pointed out.
“We are not only fighting a deadly virus, we are fighting myths, fear and deep-rooted mistrust,” said ActionAid’s director in the DRC, Saani Yakubu. His organization is therefore conducting a large-scale information campaign to convince people to observe the necessary precautions.
DPA reminds that misinformation and myths have led to several incidents between health workers and local residents in recent days. On Sunday, a group of people broke into a hospital in the town of Mungwalu, and on Friday they set fire to an isolation tent in front of it.
Fighting between armed groups
Armed groups also complicate the situation. Several of them tried to use the spread of the virus to achieve political and financial advantages during past epidemics.
A tense situation exists near the eastern borders of the DRC, where the Rwandan-backed M23 has been fighting government forces for several days. According to AFP sources, armed clashes are taking place in the Masisi region of North Kivu province, which lies south of Ituri.
The deputy governor of North Kivu province Didier Lomoyo said on Monday that insurgents were attacking the army airport in Kisangani with mortars, while a police source said they had neutralized two drones “without causing any damage”.
More than 200 victims of the virus
The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus drew attention to these circumstances on Monday. He described the epidemic in the DRC as “extremely serious and difficult” and warned neighboring countries against the spread of the disease. According to him, the eastern provinces of the DRC, where the outbreak of the disease was first detected on May 15, are “very unstable, in the past months the fighting there has intensified (and) among the local population there is also considerable distrust towards external authorities”.
So far, health workers have registered 906 people suspected of being infected, including 105 confirmed cases. In total, up to 223 people could have died from Ebola. A variant of the virus called Bundibugyo is spreading in the area, which has a lower mortality rate, but there is no approved vaccine or specific treatment for it.
