Nurse Killed, Health Worker Wounded in Attack During Ebola Response in Eastern DRC

A nurse has been killed and another health worker seriously injured in an attack that occurred while they were responding to an Ebola alert in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The assault happened on Saturday in Bafwasende, a town in the eastern province of Tshopo. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced it in a post on X on Sunday. "Everyone working to protect communities from this deadly disease must be able to work in dignity and safety. Healthcare must always be protected," he wrote.

Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO's regional director for Africa, also condemned the violence on X. "Health is NOT a target," he said, adding that misinformation and fear must never fuel violence against those responding to the outbreak. Local authorities have not yet commented on the attack or on any suspects.

The killing is the latest in a string of attacks on health workers and responders. Authorities say such incidents are slowing efforts to contain what is described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world.

Figures from the DRC's Ministry of Health show more than 9,800 cases, including over 4,700 deaths, since the outbreak began in May. That makes it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country's history. The government's handling of the crisis, combined with chronic corruption, has fed widespread distrust, and some people have even dismissed Ebola as a hoax. Responders say this scepticism has complicated their work, including in remote areas and emerging hotspots that already lack medical supplies and health staff.

Earlier incidents point to the same pattern. Last month, a DRC politician was beaten to death in North Kivu after he used a radio show to defend the government's response and urge the public 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 two health centres in 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 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 declared its latest outbreak over in July, but experts remain watchful after two people who had recently passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria.

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