Three weeks since the current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo was announced, the facts are: 397 confirmed cases, including 63 confirmed deaths, according to the latest figures reported by the African Union's Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
And yet: "The community does not believe in this disease. Despite the deaths, people don't believe in it," said John Tumujimbe, head of a team for dignified and safe burials in the small town of Mongbwalu. It's one of the epicenters of the Ebola epidemic in the Congo's north-eastern Ituri province.
"We initially thought of malaria, typhoid or diarrheal diseases. But after so many deaths, we sent samples to the INRB," Tumujimbe told DW.
The INRB — the DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research — confirmed that these were indeed cases of Ebola. This led health officials to announce the 17th Ebola epidemic to be recorded in the DRC since the virus was discovered in 1976. Ebola rumors lead to arson attacks in DRC
Health officials say many residents in Mongbwalu rejected this scientific answer.
