MONGBWALU: In the mines of Mongbwalu, the epicenter of an Ebola outbreak in the northeastern Democratic Republic Congo, gold prospectors have no choice but to overcome their fear of the virus and carry on their backbreaking work.
“Ebola is real and it scares us. But if I stay at home, what are my children going to eat?” Justin Okaume, an artisanal digger, asked.
The DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15 after several unexplained deaths in Mongbwalu in the mineral-rich but volatile Ituri province.
It has claimed more than 250 lives with 1,000 cases in the vast central African nation but the real extent of the crisis is difficult to assess.
In total, 209 people have been infected in Mongbwalu, 89 of whom have died, according to official figures.
