Funerals meant to honor the dead have become flashpoints for contagion in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a rare strain of Ebola has resurfaced.
In Mongbwalu, a gold-mining town in Ituri province, residents say panic spread after an open-casket funeral procession from Bunia was followed by a cascade of deaths. “Everyone is talking about Ebola,” said Gloire Mumbesa, 38. “The fear is that this disease may spread to many other areas.”
The World Health Organization last week declared the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths in DRC, alongside two fatalities in Uganda. Most cases are concentrated in Ituri, a province scarred by decades of militia conflict between Hema and Lendu groups.
Local leaders describe the resurgence as “heartbreaking.” Civil society coordinator Dieudonné Lossadekana said Bunia has already recorded dozens of deaths. Residents worry not only about the virus but also about economic survival. “We live from hand to mouth,” said Claude Kasuna of Irumu territory. “Restrictions hit us hard.”
The Bundibugyo variant, first identified in Uganda in 2007, has no approved vaccine or treatment. Candidate compounds are expected to enter trials later this year, but for now, health workers rely on symptom-based care. The first suspected case was a health worker who died in Bunia after presenting with fever and hemorrhaging.
Authorities have announced three new treatment centers in Ituri, while WHO has deployed 35 experts and seven tons of medical supplies. Yet aid groups warn that years of conflict and funding cuts have left health systems “on their knees.” Heather Kerr of the International Rescue Committee said, “With dozens of lives already lost and an overstretched health system, we need to act fast.”
This marks the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak. Between 2018 and 2020, North Kivu and Ituri endured the world’s second-largest epidemic, claiming more than 2,000 lives. Today, stigma and misinformation remain obstacles. “Our people tend to believe in false myths rather than rely on scientific evidence,” Kasuna said. “We need to raise awareness to save lives.”
