By SHARON NAKOLA in Nairobi, Kenya |
chinadaily.com.cn |
When four Red Cross volunteers arrived in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to bury a person who had died from Ebola, they expected grief and fear.
Fuelled by rumors that the coffin was empty and that Ebola was not real, a crowd attacked the volunteers, injuring them and forcing two to be evacuated to Kinshasa for specialized medical treatment.
For health workers and humanitarian responders battling DRC's rapidly-expanding Ebola outbreak, the deadly virus is no longer the only threat. Misinformation and mistrust are increasingly undermining efforts to contain the epidemic, fuelling attacks on frontline workers, discouraging treatment-seeking behavior and complicating surveillance and safe burial operations that are critical to stopping transmission.
