Protesters burned Ebola treatment tents after authorities in Congo refused to release the body of a suspected victim for a traditional burial, a popular local footballer believed to have died in the ongoing outbreak, Reuters witnesses said.
Police fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse crowds in Ituri province, underscoring the challenges authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo face in enforcing safe burial protocols for confirmed and suspected Ebola cases, measures seen as critical to containing the virus.
The unrest took place in Rwampara, a town hard hit by the latest outbreak driven by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
Bodies of Ebola victims are highly infectious after death, and unsafe burials, in which family members handle the body without proper protective equipment, are a major driver of transmission.
The first known case in the current outbreak died in Bunia, Ituri’s provincial capital, on April 24. The virus spread after his body was returned to Mongbwalu, where mourners gathered around him and touched the body during the funeral.
