Burial teams working to safely handle Ebola victims in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are facing growing threats and dangerous conditions as the outbreak continues to spread.
More than 3,000 people have reportedly died from the disease among over 6,100 confirmed cases, according to government figures released Wednesday.
Because of the highly contagious nature of Ebola, victims must be buried under strict safety protocols to prevent further transmission. Members of the Dignified and Safe Burial teams work in protective gear and secured facilities to prepare and transport bodies for burial.
“We’re racing against time, and there are many deaths, so many people are dying,” said Benjamin Muhindo, a member of the burial team in Rwankole, Ituri province.
However, the workers face more than the risk of contracting the virus. They also contend with hostility from communities and attacks from relatives who want the bodies of their loved ones released for traditional burials.
“Most of the time we face threats and most of the time these threats are verbal. It also happens often that they are physical, but less so because, as time goes on, people are beginning to understand what this is all about,” said Adolphe Yuma Tumba, another member of the team.
The challenges come as health authorities struggle to contain the rapidly expanding outbreak.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Tuesday that containment efforts remained below established response targets, while the rapid spread across several health zones indicated an “uncontrolled expansion of the outbreak.”
The report also noted that a large proportion of new infections were occurring outside known transmission chains. Only about 15 to 20 per cent of confirmed new cases were linked to previously identified contacts, according to the report.
Meanwhile, M23 rebels, who control large parts of North and South Kivu, announced on Thursday that a new Ebola case had been detected in an area previously declared free of the disease.
The patient, a 21-year-old man, was identified in the Kayna health zone in North Kivu, near Lubero. He was flagged as a suspected case after returning to the area, although it remains unclear where he contracted the virus.
The World Health Organization has warned that the current outbreak could surpass the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which remains the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record and claimed about 11,000 lives.
As infections continue to rise, burial teams remain on the front line, working under the constant threat of exposure while trying to prevent further transmission and manage the growing number of deaths.
