A nurse has been killed and a teacher seriously injured after being attacked by a mob who accused them of spreading Ebola in the town of Bafwasende, in the eastern Tshopo province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The nurse died at the scene after a prolonged assault, while the teacher survived only after police intervened.
Attack during Ebola response
The pair were attacked on Saturday while responding to the Ebola outbreak, according to the World Health Organisation, which warned that the incident was the latest in a series of attacks on health workers. Rumours had spread among residents that the pair were responsible for infecting people, leading to them being surrounded.
The World Health Organisation said repeated incidents are hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected."
Widespread attacks and misinformation
Regional director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, said: "Misinformation and fear must never fuel violence." Last month, a politician was beaten to death in the North Kivu province after publicly defending the government's response to Ebola on a local radio show, where he asked the public to follow safety measures such as social distancing and handwashing.
At the start of the outbreak in May, two emergency tents at health centres were set alight in two separate attacks in one week. Other reports in the months since have included nurses being held captive by angry relatives of infected patients, and threats against those carrying out safe burials.
Authorities have struggled to combat misinformation claiming that Ebola is a hoax, with widespread distrust of the government over corruption and handling of previous outbreaks said to have worsened the situation.
Outbreak toll and regional spread
More than 4,700 deaths have been recorded in the past five months, making it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo's history. Smaller numbers of cases have been reported in neighbouring countries, such as Uganda, which officially ended its outbreak in August after going 42 days without any new cases.
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case of Ebola last week. The patient, a Swiss woman with a travel history to Uganda, was flown to Zurich for further treatment.
