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The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people, making it the deadliest epidemic recorded in the country, according to government figures.
The Health Ministry said on Friday as reported by Aljazeera that the death toll had reached 4,018, while confirmed cases had risen to about 8,300 across seven provinces.
Efforts to contain the outbreak have been hampered by poor infrastructure, the remoteness of affected areas and continuing conflict involving armed groups, particularly near the borders with South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.
The response suffered another setback this week after a transit centre for Ebola patients in Ituri Province was burned by soldiers searching for weapons on the outskirts of Bunia, the provincial capital.
Read more: Ebola death toll nears 1,000 in DR Congo, as WHO says virus spreading at an unprecedented pace
The United Nations said the incident forced about 19,000 people living in the camp to flee, further complicating efforts to provide medical care and prevent the spread of the virus.
“The enormous challenge of halting the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo just became even harder after a key transit centre for patients requiring treatment burned down in Ituri province,” the UN said.
Ituri has emerged as the epicentre of the outbreak, with insecurity and limited access to affected communities making it difficult for health teams to identify and isolate cases quickly.
Health authorities are also facing growing mistrust and anger among communities towards health workers and government officials, creating further barriers to the response.
The tensions were highlighted by the killing of a senior member of the governing Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party, who was beaten to death days after appearing on a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak.
The violence underscores the increasingly difficult environment facing health workers and officials seeking to persuade communities to cooperate with surveillance, treatment and prevention measures.
The government continues to face pressure to strengthen the response as the outbreak spreads across several provinces and the number of deaths continues to rise.
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