Attackers Kill Nurse, Injure Health Worker Responding to Ebola Case in DR Congo

On Saturday, in the town of Bafwasende in the eastern province of Tshopo, a nurse was killed and another health worker severely injured. They had been responding to an Ebola alert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when they were attacked. The World Health Organization confirmed the attack, and its Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wrote about it on X on Sunday.

"Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety," he said. "Healthcare must always be protected." Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO's regional director for Africa, also condemned the attack on X. "Health is NOT a target," he wrote, adding that misinformation and fear must never fuel violence. Local authorities have not yet commented on the attack or on who the suspects might be.

The killing is the latest in a series of attacks on health workers and responders that authorities say is slowing efforts to contain what is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world. Data from the DRC's Ministry of Health show more than 9,800 recorded cases since the outbreak began in May, including more than 4,700 deaths. That makes it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country's history.

The violence sits against a backdrop of widespread distrust. The government's handling of the outbreak, combined with chronic corruption, has left many people suspicious, and some dismiss Ebola as a hoax. Responders say this scepticism has complicated their work, including in remote areas and emerging hotspots that already face shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers.

The earlier incidents are specific. Last month, a Congolese politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after he publicly defended the government's response on a radio show, where he had urged people to follow measures such as social distancing and hand-washing. In May, at the start of the outbreak, angry residents set fire to tents at health centres in two separate attacks within a single week. Responders also say some residents have held team members captive or threatened them in designated health zones.

The outbreak has also crossed borders. It has now been reported in four countries across eastern, central and western Africa, the widest geographic spread of any Ebola outbreak on the continent so far. On Sunday, Uganda's Minister of Health, Chris Baryomunsi, announced that all citizens returning from travel to the DRC will be quarantined for 21 days. Uganda says it is Ebola-free after declaring the end of its latest outbreak in July, but health experts remain watchful after two people who had recently passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria.

The strain behind the outbreak is Bundibugyo, which has no approved vaccine or specific treatment. Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, and symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear, according to the WHO. In an October 23 update, the agency urged stronger monitoring and cooperation across borders while advising against restrictions on travel or trade with affected countries.

What to watch now is whether local authorities identify those responsible, and whether the violence further limits the reach of responders in a outbreak that already has no approved vaccine or treatment to offer.