Renewed violence fuels more deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo’s North Kivu | Today’s news

(Bloomberg) — Ebola is gaining momentum in another part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where escalating violence is hampering efforts to find patients and contain the virus.

More than 25,000 people have fled the fighting to the northeastern city of Beni, while attacks by armed groups have killed at least 60 civilians since July 12, the UN says. Several aid agencies have suspended movement in parts of the area, disrupting the Ebola response.

Worsening insecurity, limited treatment capacity and weak community surveillance make it difficult to identify infections before they spread. Ebola cases in North Kivu more than doubled to 275 this month, surpassing the increase in Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak, while 63% of confirmed patients in North Kivu died compared to 42% in Ituri.

According to Alice Ribes, head of the International Rescue Committee’s Ebola response team, communities are hiding suspected cases. Tracking is “very, very low,” she said, with responders lacking the personnel, motorcycles and fuel needed to actively search for cases.

“If we don’t act now, what will happen in Grand Nord Kivu will be the same as in Ituri,” Ribes said, referring to the northern region of the province near Ituri.

The National Institute of Public Health revised the epidemic’s cumulative death toll upwards by 236 on Thursday after matching provincial and national databases in Ituri and North Kivu. The increase mainly reflected the harmonization of epidemiological records, not deaths that occurred in the previous 24 hours, she said. At the same time, the report recorded 62 newly confirmed deaths during the last monitored period.

More than 260 armed groups operate in North Kivu and Ituri, fueling chronic insecurity and repeated displacement, according to a UN report released in June.

The latest phase of the unrest began in late 2021, when the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group resumed an offensive against Congolese government forces, reigniting the conflict rooted in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. More than 8 million people were displaced across Congo during a decade of fighting.

Renewed violence along the border between Ituri and North Kivu has driven more people from their homes in Ebola-hit areas, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Thursday. Thirty people were reportedly killed Wednesday in attacks on villages in Mambasa territory, while six aid agencies suspended movement in parts of neighboring Beni territory, disrupting the response to the outbreak.

“Insecurity continues to affect humanitarian operations in the eastern parts of North Kivu province,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday. “This includes our efforts to respond to the ongoing Ebola outbreak, which is only getting worse.”

Violence complicates the outbreak in two ways, the IRC’s Ribes said. Some people avoid seeking care because they are afraid of Ebola treatment or because they don’t trust the authorities. Others want treatment but cannot safely reach health facilities, while aid teams face increasing difficulties in reaching affected communities.

“This is the worst recipe for disaster,” she said in an interview from the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.

Beni and Butembo, a town 55 kilometers to the south, endured the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak six years ago. Still, that experience hasn’t translated into a more effective response, Ribes said.

Years of conflict, displacement, food shortages and repeated crises have instead left many communities exhausted and increasingly distrustful of health authorities.

Instead of avoiding crowds, people in Beni continue to attend weddings, parties and other large gatherings, while hand washers and temperature checks are rare, she said.

“Life goes on as if nothing happened,” she said. “It’s terrible.

More such stories are available at bloomberg.com