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Outbreak Impact Indicators
Estimated statistics for the current Ebola outbreak in DRC
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Protesters set Ebola treatment center on fire in DRC, demanding ...
Protesters in the Democratic Republic of Congo set fire to an Ebola treatment center, demanding a deceased relative's body. The attack destroyed two hospital tents treating patients with Ebola, which officials think is linked to the deaths of at least 160 people in the DRC. Local officials say misinformation has convinced many residents that Ebola is a fabrication by outsiders. AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor. Protesters caused a blaze at a health facility treating Ebola patients in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Thursday, burning down two hospital tents, a local politician told CNN. Tensions flared Thursday when the relatives of a young man who died of Ebola tried to take his body “by force” from the Rwampara Hospital, according to Luc Mambele, vice president of Congolese political party A2RC. A lethal Ebola strain has ripped through local communities in the area, triggering a global health emergency. Tests show that the Bundibugyo strain — which has no specific treatment or vaccine — is behind the outbreak. The DRC said Thursday that at least 160 deaths are thought to be linked to the disease. The government said there were 13 new confirmed cases Thursday, and a further 78 suspected cases in Ituri province. After health authorities refused access to the young man’s body, family members responding by lobbing projectiles at the hospital tents, causing a fire to break out, the local official said. Six patients were receiving treatment in the medical tents from the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) at the time of the attack and are now being cared for in the hospital, ALIMA said in a statement. The medical humanitarian organization warned against the spread of “incorrect or unconfirmed information circulating on social media and the internet,” which is likely to fuel fear, misinformation and mistrust toward health facilities. In a video shared with CNN, Mambele describes being locked down at the hospital as police fire warning shots to disperse protesters from the burning tents. Video from Reuters news agency showed a large blaze engulfing the medical tents, with their scorched frames standing over blackened hospital beds in the aftermath of the attack. Officers from the national police force who were deployed to the scene worked swiftly to restore order, Mambele told CNN. A spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Patrick Muyaya, condemned the attack, telling CNN that the locals respo...
DRC Ebola hospital set on fire as protesters demand access to ...
Hospital beds are seen amid the remains of an Ebola treatment center destroyed by a fire in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. - Copyright © africanews AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne Last updated: 4 hours ago Democratic Republic Of Congo Violence has erupted in eastern DR Congo's Ituri province after tensions linked to the handling of victims of the latest Ebola outbreak. Protesters in the town of Rwampara wanted to recover the bodies of relatives who died of Ebola in order to bury them. When they were denied, they set the hospital on fire, according to local reports. Video footage shared by a healthcare worker appeared to show security forces intervening to retake control of the building. The incident comes as a first Ebola case has been confirmed in the region's South Kivu province, under the control of M23 militia, the group's spokesperson said on Thursday. Efforts to get a grip on the latest outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic disease, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international emergency, have been hampered by the DRC's long-running conflicts, including that between the Congolese army and the M23. Having seized swathes of land in the mineral-rich east with Rwanda's help, the M23 has set up to govern for the long run in areas under its control, installing a parallel administration to the Congolese government. But the armed group has never had to manage the response to a serious epidemic of a disease like Ebola, which has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century. According to the M23 spokesman, tests "confirm a new positive case" from the South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu, which fell into M23 hands in February 2025. But the case involved a "person coming from Kisangani", a major city in the eastern Tshopo province where no Ebola infections from the current outbreak have so far been recorded. According to the WHO, 139 people have died in the latest outbreak. Nearly 600 probably cases have been identified.
Ebola treatment centre set on fire amid anger over virus outbreak
An Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo was set ablaze on Thursday by angry residents, after they were prevented from retrieving the body of a local man. The incident, confirmed by a witness and a senior police officer, underscores the escalating fear and resentment surrounding the health crisis that medical professionals are struggling to contain.This act of arson in Rwampara starkly illustrates the immense challenges faced by health workers. Their stringent measures, crucial for curbing the rare Ebola virus, frequently clash with deeply ingrained local customs, particularly traditional burial rites. The disease has been spreading for weeks across a region already grappling with inadequate health facilities and widespread displacement due to armed conflict.Authorities are compelled to manage the burials of suspected victims wherever possible, as the bodies of those who succumb to Ebola remain highly contagious. This policy aims to prevent further transmission, which often occurs when communities prepare bodies for burial and gather for funerals. The arson attack in Rwampara reflects the challenges of health workers trying to curb a rare Ebola virus by using stringent measures that might clash with local customs, such as burial rites (Reuters)However, this vital public health strategy is proving deeply unpopular with grieving families and friends, who are denied the opportunity to perform traditional rites for their loved ones.The Rwampara centre was reportedly set alight by local youths, enraged after being stopped from retrieving the body of a friend believed to have died from Ebola, according to an eyewitness who spoke to The Associated Press.“The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,” said Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area. "The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.”An AP journalist saw people break into the center and set fire to objects inside and also to what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim that was being stored there. Aid workers fled the treatment center in vehicles.Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of the public security department, Ituri Province, said it was due to youths who didn't understand the protocols required for burying suspected Ebola victims.Red Cross workers carry the coffin with the body of a person who died of Ebola, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebo...
Residents burn an Ebola center in Congo as fear and anger grow ...
3 hours ago ... Ebola outbreak kills 65 in eastern DR Congo's Ituri province ... The place for news articles about current events in the United States and the rest of the world.
