DRC ebola death toll tops 4,000

“The enormous challenge of halting the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo just became even harder after a key transit centre for patients requiring treatment burned down in Ituri province,” the UN said.

Ituri has emerged as the epicentre of the outbreak, with insecurity and limited access to affected communities making it difficult for health teams to identify and isolate cases quickly.

Health authorities are also facing growing mistrust and anger among communities towards health workers and government officials, creating further barriers to the response.

The tensions were highlighted by the killing of a senior member of the governing Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party, who was beaten to death days after appearing on a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak.

The violence underscores the increasingly difficult environment facing health workers and officials seeking to persuade communities to cooperate with surveillance, treatment and prevention measures.

The government continues to face pressure to strengthen the response as the outbreak spreads across several provinces and the number of deaths continues to rise.

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