9,800 Ebola cases in DRC as nurse killed in Bafwasende attack

The World Health Organization reported a total of 9,800 confirmed cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as of this week. This figure includes more than 4,700 deaths since the outbreak began in May. The tally marks the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country's history. The organization stated that a nurse was killed and another health worker was seriously injured in an attack on Saturday in Bafwasende, a town in the eastern province of Tshopo.

Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the incident in a post on X on Sunday. He noted that everyone working to protect communities from the disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. He added that healthcare must always be protected. Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO's regional director for Africa, also condemned the violence. He stated that health is not a target and that misinformation and fear must not fuel attacks on responders. Local authorities have not yet commented on the attack or identified any suspects.

Violence against health workers has intensified as the outbreak spreads. Authorities say these incidents are slowing efforts to contain what is described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world. Government handling of the crisis, combined with chronic corruption, has fed widespread distrust. Some residents have dismissed Ebola as a hoax. Responders say this skepticism complicates work in remote areas and emerging hotspots that lack medical supplies and staff. Last month, a politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after using a radio show to defend the government's response. In May, angry residents set fire to tents at two health centres in separate attacks within one week. Responders also report that some residents have held team members captive or threatened them in designated health zones.

The outbreak has been reported in four countries across eastern, central, and western Africa. This represents the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent. On Sunday, Uganda's Minister of Health Chris Baryomunsi announced that all citizens returning from travel to the DRC will be quarantined for 21 days. Uganda declared its latest outbreak over in July, but experts remain watchful. Two people who recently passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria. The strain behind the current outbreak, Bundibugyo, has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.

The WHO advised against travel or trade restrictions on affected countries in an update on October 23. The agency called for stronger monitoring and cross-border cooperation. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people. Symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear after exposure.