Senior DRC politician beaten to death after radio appearance promoting Ebola prevention

The useful part

Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters View image in fullscreen Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, where mistrust of the response to the outbreak has fuelled a series of attacks. Karondwa's death comes after a series of attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centres that are fuelled by rumours and misinformation about the disease and distrust of health responders. The incidents have included violence, riots and property damage and the disruption of essential services.

How it works

• the spread of the disease has been intensified by several factors, including conflict, aid cuts and the attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centres.
• It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, how many people were involved or what motivated it, but the party said Karondwa was "an innocent victim for having defended ‌the party's position on...
• On Saturday, ​armed men attacked a hand-washing ​checkpoint in the nearby Beni territory, killing at least one ​person and wounding ‌several others, a ​local civil ​society group reported.
• First identified in 1976 in what is now the DRC, Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease that affects humans and non-human primates.
• It spreads through body fluids or contaminated materials and causes organ damage, blood vessel impairment and sometimes severe internal and external bleeding.

What to take from it

The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. The outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the DRC's history and second only ​globally to ​the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa, which infected ​more than ‌28,600 people ​and ​killed more than 11,000. Last month, the World Health Organization warned it was on track to surpass the west Africa outbreak.

Details worth keeping

Cases of the disease have been confirmed in seven provinces. What is Ebola and why is the outbreak in DRC causing so much concern?

Related coverage

• Scmp: A senior member of Congo's ruling party was ⁠beaten to ⁠death after taking part ⁠in a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak, a party representative said on Monday.
• Theeastafrican: The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Ebola response teams, underscoring persistent mistrust among the population.
• Africanews: Opposition leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo have condemned the death of one of their members during a demonstration in Kinshasa on September 15.
• Allafrica: [Africa CDC] Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- Four months after the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was designated a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security...