Unknown individuals attacked and set fire to an Ebola treatment center in Bafwasende, in the north-central part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Tsopo province, on Saturday.

The fire affected two rooms used to isolate suspected cases, which suffered damage before local guards intervened to extinguish the flames.

Marcel Likilo, the doctor in charge of the health zone, said from Kisangani, the provincial capital, that medical personnel deployed in the area chose to flee after the attack, while suspected patients who remained at the site were evacuated to Nia-Nia, in the neighboring province of Ituri, the epicenter of the current outbreak.

RELATED: Ebola Outbreak in Congo Tops 10,000 Cases as Death Toll Mounts

The attack comes just a week after a mob lynched a health worker participating in response efforts against the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, and aggravates the health crisis in the region. Health authorities have repeatedly stated that resistance from local communities is one of the biggest obstacles to containing the disease.

Official records from the Ministry of Health indicate that the emergency has left more than 10,000 confirmed cases and surpassed 5,000 deaths since the outbreak began in mid-May. The outbreak declared on May 15 in the DRC, the second deadliest in global history, has accumulated 10,351 confirmed cases and 5,026 deaths in eight provinces of that country.

🏢 The National Institute of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed that the Ebola outbreak has surpassed 5,000 laboratory-confirmed deaths. There are 10,351 infected people. Case fatality rate: 48.6%.

🌍 The outbreak began on May 15 and spans the… pic.twitter.com/xVKWMzf0Q2

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 31, 2026

The emergency also previously spread to Uganda, where the World Health Organization declared the outbreak closed on August 26 after counting 20 infections. Outside the central and eastern African region, the epidemic has left traces with nine cases in Kenya, one in France and the medical evacuation of three people to the Netherlands and Germany.

In parallel, the WHO is advancing the development of two experimental vaccines under human trials to combat the Bundibugyo strain, the cause of the current health emergency.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.