{"id":340652,"date":"2026-05-26T00:34:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=340652"},"modified":"2026-05-26T00:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T19:04:28","slug":"ebola-patients-who-fled-hospital-set-on-fire-by-families-now-evading-treatment-news-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/ebola-patients-who-fled-hospital-set-on-fire-by-families-now-evading-treatment-news-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola patients who fled hospital set on fire by families ‘now evading treatment’ | News World"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Red Cross carry a coffin with the dead body of a baby who died of Ebola in Mongbwalu, Ituri (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No less than 18 people possibly infected with Ebola fled hospital after it was attacked multiple times by grieving families. <\/p>\n

No less than 220 people have died of the virus within the Democratic Republic of Congo since an outbreak was declared earlier this month. <\/p>\n

Attacks by residents on makeshift hospitals in Ituri province, the centre of the outbreak, have risen within the last week.<\/p>\n

Some 18 Ebola patients escaped Mongbwalu general referral hospital on Saturday as people burnt tents arrange by M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res.<\/p>\n

Of them, 4 lab cases have come back; three were negative and one was positive. <\/p>\n

Dr Richard Lokodu, medical director of the power, told Reuters<\/a>: \u2018We’ve got one confirmed case of Ebola that continues to flow into locally and evade the response.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/strong> newsletter or get Breaking News <\/strong>alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Health aid groups are actually playing \u2018catch-up\u2019 for the reason that outbreak was first detected in mid-May (Picture: Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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People were being treated on the time (Picture: AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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No less than one hospital employee was injured (Picture: AP Photo\/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He added that the hospital was attacked 4 times on Sunday in attacks plotted by the family of a Christian religious leader who died of Ebola.<\/p>\n

A suspected patient who was in critical condition died within the second attack while attempting to flee from his bed.<\/p>\n

The attackers, Dr Lokodu said, desired to take the bodies of the Ebola victims by force for burial. <\/p>\n

Ebola might be contracted through contact with the bodily fluids of a dead person; the virus has spread during mourning and funeral proceedings<\/a> in\u00a0previous outbreaks.<\/p>\n

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@metrouk<\/a> <\/p>\n

The World Health Organisation has officially declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo as an \u2018emergency of international concern\u2019. Officials have stressed that whilst this isn\u2019t a world pandemic like Covid, there\u2019s concern about regional spread after cases have crossed into Uganda. Ebola is spread through bodily fluids and this strain is the Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or treatment. \ud83c\udfa5 @zofia_louise #worldnews<\/a> #ebola<\/a> #congo<\/a> #vaccine<\/a><\/p>\n

\u266c original sound \u2013 Metro \u2013 Metro<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

An analogous incident happened last Thursday, which saw a grieving family burn hospital tents down in Rwampara Hospital after medical professionals refused to release a young footballer\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

Local officials say the attacks are right down to a ignorance, with some seeing Ebola as a \u2018white man\u2019s invention\u2019 or a cash-grab by hospitals.<\/p>\n

Ebola outbreak \u2018outpacing\u2019 response<\/h2>\n

The Ebola epidemic is now outpacing health officials and aid groups, \u200bthe pinnacle of the World Health Organization said today.<\/p>\n

WHO\u2019s director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told African leaders today: \u2018We’re urgently scaling up operations, but in the mean time the epidemic is outpacing us.\u2019<\/p>\n

Neighbouring Uganda reported two more Ebola cases, bringing its total variety of cases to seven, Dr Ghebreyesus added.<\/p>\n

The brand new cases are each Ugandan medical experts in a non-public medical institution within the capital, Kampala.<\/p>\n

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He said a delay in detecting Ebola cases meant responders were now \u2018playing catch-up\u2019.<\/p>\n

The sort of Ebola virus behind the outbreak,\u00a0generally known as Bundibugyo, is rare.\u00a0There is no such thing as a vaccine or approved treatment.<\/p>\n

The primary known case involved\u00a0a healthcare employee whose symptoms began on April 24 and who later died at a medical facility in Bunia.<\/p>\n

The hotspots are Rwampara, Mongbwalu, Nyankunde and Bunia in Ituri. The province is popular amongst migrating labourers for its gold mines, while many civilians have been displaced by conflict.<\/p>\n

Cases have also been reported in North Kivu. M23,\u00a0a rebel group\u00a0that controls territory in eastern Congo, confirmed a death in South Kivu.<\/p>\n

While the US has cautioned Americans against visiting the DRC, the UK Foreign Office only advises <\/a>against travel to the border of Likouala.<\/p>\n

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The Department of State strongly urges Americans to not travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, or Uganda for any reason and to reconsider travel to Rwanda attributable to the Ebola Bundibugyo Virus disease outbreak within the region. The Department\u2019s Travel\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/rC4vRJxVp7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TravelGov (@TravelGov) May 19, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Uganda has restricted travel to and from Congo and suspended all flights to and from the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As test results proceed to are available in, health officials expect this number to rise to as many as 1,000 \u2013 if it\u2019s not already that top<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tWhat’s Ebola?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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The rare and deadly virus has emerged again in Uganda and Congo (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Ebola is an illness attributable to\u00a0a bunch of related viruses, generally known as orthoebolaviruses.<\/p>\n

Infections are available in two parts \u2013 dry and wet. <\/p>\n

The so-called dry symptoms, which include fever, aches, pains and fatigue, can progress to \u2018wet\u2019 ones comparable to diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding.<\/p>\n

As the primary round of symptoms, which show inside 21 days, resemble the common cold or flu, many Ebola cases go undiagnosed. <\/p>\n

Ebola is principally spread through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected, sick or dead person, or contaminated objects like clothing.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t spread through particles that linger within the air. As an alternative, infected fluid must directly enter the body through a gap, just like the mouth.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: DR Congo footballers ordered to isolate before World Cup attributable to Ebola outbreak<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrow<\/title>\n<\/use><\/svg>MORE: Rare incurable Ebola outbreak sparks emergency response by global crisis group<\/span><\/p>\n

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