Ebola outbreak reaches IDP camp in DR Congo - first deaths recorded

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ebola outbreak has spread to a large camp for internally displaced persons. The first deaths from the dangerous disease have already been confirmed in the Kpangba camp in the east of the country, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.

Details

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), two residents of the Kpangba camp, which is home to about 30,000 displaced persons, have fallen victim to the virus.

As Reuters notes, the first person infected was a 60-year-old woman whose Ebola infection was confirmed on May 30. At the same time, she left quarantine and disappeared from the sight of medics. The woman died the next day, and on June 1, her daughter also passed away. Post-mortem tests confirmed the presence of the virus in both cases.

Humanitarian organizations are warning of a high risk of rapid spread of the disease due to extremely dense living conditions in the camps. According to representatives of humanitarian missions, hundreds of people often use a single toilet, and cases of open defecation remain a common occurrence.

"We are very concerned that Ebola in these camps could spread extremely quickly. This could cause panic and mass displacement of people, regardless of whether they were contact persons or sick,"

An additional problem remains the population's distrust of medics and international organizations. According to Reuters sources, when World Health Organization workers tried to reach the bodies of the deceased, local residents began throwing stones at their vehicles.

As of June 12, 676 confirmed cases of Ebola and 136 deaths have been registered in the DR Congo. The outbreak has already spread to neighboring Uganda, where 19 cases of infection have been recorded.

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