Burning of a Ebola-hit transit camp sends 19,000 fleeing, illustrating the difficulties of controlling epidemic.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has now killed more than 4,000 people, according to government data, making it the worst epidemic in the country’s history.
Figures released on Friday showed that the death toll has risen to 4,018, and confirmed cases had reached 8,300 across seven provinces, as the government continues to struggle to contain the outbreak.
Weak infrastructure, the remoteness of the region in eastern DRC, and ongoing conflict with armed groups near the borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda have hindered efforts to respond to cases quickly and effectively.
The United Nations reported on Friday that an Ebola-hit camp housing a transit centre for infected patients was burned by soldiers earlier this week as they were looking for weapons on the outskirts of Bunia, capital city of Ituri Province, which is at the epicentre of the outbreak.
The incident forced 19,000 people to flee the camp.
“The enormous challenge of halting the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) just became even harder after a key transit centre for patients requiring treatment burned down in Ituri province,” the UN said.
