Family of Ebola victim set hospital tents on fire while trying to take body ‘by force’ | News World

Protesters demanding the return of the body of someone who died of Ebola virus set a hospital on fire.

A lethal strain of the virus killed at least 130 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo amid a wider outbreak in central and eastern Africa.

With tensions high, the relatives of a young man who died of Ebola tried to take his body ‘by force’ from Rwampara Hospital in Ituri yesterday.

Family members lobbed stones and set two hospital tents on fire where six people were receiving treatment.

At least one worker at the hospital near the city of Bunia was injured and all have since been given military protection.

The man who died was a beloved local footballer who played for several local teams.

Yet his family as well as locals believe that ‘Ebola is a lie’, Luc Mambele, vice president of Congolese political party A2RC, told CNN.

His mother says that he died of typhoid fever, a disease caused by dirty water, not Ebola.

Mambele added: ‘The population is not sufficiently informed or made aware of what is happening.

‘To members of the most remote communities, Ebola is a White man’s invention; it doesn’t exist.’

Some locals see Ebola as a money-grab by NGOs and hospitals.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is an illness caused by a group of related viruses, known as orthoebolaviruses.

Infections come in two parts – dry and wet.

The so-called dry symptoms, which include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, can progress to ‘wet’ ones such as diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding.

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As the first round of symptoms, which show within 21 days, resemble the common cold or flu, many Ebola cases go undiagnosed.

Ebola is mainly spread through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected, sick or dead person, or contaminated objects like clothing.

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Health officials refused to release his remains as the body of a dead Ebola victim is highly infectious

Officers from the national police force who were deployed to the scene.

Everything we know about the Ebola outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ but a pandemic is unlikely.

The type of Ebola virus behind the outbreak, known as Bundibugyo, is rare. There is no vaccine or treatment.

It’s not clear when the outbreak began but Africa’s leading public health authority said last week that 65 deaths from Ebola had been reported.

The authority, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suspects as many as 671 people could be sickened with Ebola.

The Bundibugyo strain is also tearing through Uganda, where two cases and one death have been reported so far in Kampala, it added.

The first known case involved healthcare worker whose symptoms began on April 24 and who later died at a medical facility in Bunia.

As test results continue to come in, health officials expect this number to rise to as many as 1,000 – if it’s not already that high.

Fears of spread are high as many in Ituri have been displaced by a conflict which has gouged hospitals and slowed down efforts to contain the virus.

Ituri is also home to migrant laborers, drawn to the province’s gold mines who often hop borders.

Public transport, flights and ferries between Uganda and the DRC have been suspended.

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