Nurse killed in attack on Ebola response team in eastern DR Congo
- A nurse was killed and another health worker badly injured in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, the WHO said.
- The team was responding to an Ebola alert on Saturday when the attack happened.
- Congo's outbreak has passed 9,800 reported cases and more than 4,700 deaths since May.
A nurse has been killed and a second health worker badly injured after an attack on an Ebola response team in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The attack happened on Saturday in Bafwasende, in Tshopo province, while the workers were answering an Ebola alert, according to the WHO. Local authorities had not named the attackers or given a motive by the time the reports were published.
The WHO condemned the killing and warned that violence against health workers puts the effort to contain the outbreak at risk. Its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and its Africa regional director, Mohamed Yakub Janabi, called for the protection of health workers and everyone else involved in the response.
Why this matters beyond DR Congo
Congo is fighting a severe Ebola outbreak that has stretched a health system already under pressure. Reports on 26 October put the total since the outbreak began in May at more than 9,800 cases and over 4,700 deaths.
Ebola is a serious viral disease that causes fever, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, bleeding inside and outside the body. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or with contaminated materials. Finding cases early, isolating patients and keeping up infection control are what slow it down.
That work depends on people in affected communities trusting the teams that come to test, trace contacts and treat. The WHO says misinformation and fear of authorities have made that harder in some places, and that false information can push people to attack medical staff.
Past incidents in Congo have included threats against response teams, attacks on health facilities and violence against people who supported Ebola prevention work. Such attacks can halt surveillance and delay supplies, and they can make medics think twice about entering affected areas.
For families in outbreak zones, the result is simple and painful: fewer chances of timely care for people who fall ill.
What happens next
The WHO wants health workers to be able to do their jobs safely and is asking communities to cooperate with disease-control measures. Details of the investigation and an update on the injured worker's condition were still being awaited.
