Fear and panic grow as rare Ebola strain spreads in Congo

Fear is spreading across eastern Congo as a rare strain of Ebola continues to rapidly infect communities already battered by violence and instability.

Healthcare workers say they are overwhelmed, underprotected and undertrained as the deadly virus tightens its grip on some of the region’s most vulnerable areas.

“It’s truly sad and painful because we’ve already been through a security crisis, and now Ebola is here too,” said Bunia resident Justin Ndasi after the first confirmed death in the city was announced last week.

Health officials say the outbreak went undetected for weeks after early symptoms were mistaken for illnesses like malaria.

Residents described victims suddenly falling gravely ill before suffering vomiting, severe pain and bleeding.

“He started vomiting. Then he started bleeding and vomiting a lot,” recalled grieving mother Botwine Swanze, who lost her son to the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency and warned about the “scale and speed” of the spread.

So far, 51 Ebola cases have been confirmed in Congo’s Ituri and North Kivu provinces, along with two cases in neighbouring Uganda.

Authorities have also recorded 139 suspected deaths and nearly 600 suspected cases, but experts fear the real numbers could be far higher.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which experts say spread silently for months while authorities initially tested for a different version of the virus.

The Ebola virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain and internal or external bleeding.

The crisis is unfolding in regions plagued by armed groups and conflict, making it difficult for health workers to trace infections and contain the outbreak.

Meanwhile, panic buying has reportedly pushed up the prices of masks and disinfectants in affected communities.

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