Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo -
Unidentified attackers killed two Ebola health workers in
eastern Congo over the weekend, the health ministry said, the
latest in a string of assaults that have hampered efforts to
stop the deadly spread of the virus.
Local mistrust of health officials and militia violence in
Congo's restive east have caused the number of new cases to
surge. Nearly 2 500 people have been infected and more than
1 600 killed in the second biggest outbreak on record.
Dozens of responders have been injured or killed in attacks
this year.
The two people killed, who were community workers near
Mukulia in North Kivu province, had been receiving threats since
December and one had been attacked previously, the ministry said
in a statement.
The first case of Ebola in the eastern Congo city of Goma
was discovered on Sunday, raising concerns the virus could
spread quicker in a densely populated area close to the Rwandan
border.
Goma, a lakeside city of 1 million people, is more than 350
kilometres (220 miles) south of where the outbreak was first
detected a year ago.
The patient was a priest who became infected during a visit
to the town of Butembo, 200 km (124 miles) north of Goma, where
he interacted with Ebola patients, Congo's health ministry said
in a statement.
He developed symptoms last week before taking a bus to Goma
on Friday. When he arrived in Goma on Sunday he went to a clinic
where he tested positive for Ebola and he was taken back to a
clinic in Butembo on Monday.
"Due to the speed with which the patient has been identified
and isolated, as well as the identification of all bus
passengers from Butembo, the risk of spreading to the rest of
the city of Goma remains low," the ministry said.
Goma has been preparing for the arrival of Ebola for a year,
setting up hand-washing stations and making sure mototaxi
drivers do not share helmets.
Ebola causes diarrhoea, vomiting and hemorrhagic fever and
can be spread through bodily fluids. An epidemic between 2013
and 2016 killed more than 11 300 people in West Africa.