A nurse was killed and another health worker severely injured while responding to an Ebola alert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization said [E1].
The attack took place Saturday in Bafwasende, Tshopo province, and was the latest in a series of attacks that authorities say is hampering efforts to slow what AP called the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said [E2].
WHO Africa regional director Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi condemned the attack, while local authorities had not commented on it or the suspects [E3].
The change since this paper’s 24 October Ebola coverage is the fatal attack on a response team in an affected Congolese province. The health ministry said the outbreak began in May and is Congo’s deadliest Ebola outbreak [E4].
Authorities had adopted a village-centred approach to fight the outbreak, but AP reported resistance from some residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax and widespread distrust of government [E5].
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recorded 9,964 confirmed cases and 4,851 related deaths in Congo as of 25 October, with Tshopo among eight affected provinces [E6].