ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Persistent armed attacks and assaults on healthcare workers and medical facilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are severely undermining Ebola containment efforts, leaving response teams lagging behind a rapidly spreading outbreak, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has warned.
Since the DRC declared the outbreak on May 15, the African Union's specialized public health agency has recorded 31 security incidents targeting healthcare workers and facilities over the past six months, including four armed attacks, 16 assaults on Ebola responders, and 11 facilities burned or targeted, Africa CDC said in an online media briefing Thursday evening.
"Unfortunately, during the last six months, several attacks have been recorded," said Wessam Mankoula, an Africa CDC official. "Attacks on healthcare workers, attacks on frontline responders, and attacks on healthcare facilities: this is what makes the virus stay ahead of us and makes our response lag behind."
The agency noted that during a recent attack in Cantine-Aloya, a locality in the Beni territory of North Kivu Province, three health facilities were looted and burned, while three health workers were among the 66 civilians killed.
"When this attack happened last week, more than 1,000 contacts lost in follow-up, and our surveillance teams in those affected areas are not able to conduct follow-up for those contacts," Mankoula said.
"Unfortunately, three confirmed cases remain unaccounted for until now, as they have already run away from those burned Ebola treatment centers and health facilities," he added.
Africa CDC warned that armed attacks and assaults targeting healthcare workers and facilities, as well as burial teams and other critical personnel, are further compounding already severe contact-listing and follow-up gaps.
Landry Dongmo Tsague, director of Africa CDC's Center for Primary Health Care, warned that security incidents are undermining recent progress in expanding community participation to identify and trace possible contacts under the village-centered response approach.
Emphasizing the urgent need for armed groups operating in the eastern part of the DRC to respect the protection of vital healthcare facilities and outbreak responders, Mankoula stressed that "these security incidents need to stop. Peace and security corridors need to be available for our responders in the field."
Africa CDC also highlighted ongoing efforts between the agency and the African Union to bolster the protection of frontline responders in the field and reach areas facing severe security challenges.
The DRC remains the epicenter of the ongoing multi-country Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. Since the country declared the outbreak on May 15, the virus has spread from just three health zones to 67 health zones across eight provinces. ■
