Congo says Ebola deaths top 100 as armed groups threaten response

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday said confirmed Ebola deaths had climbed ​to 101 and that the presence of armed groups was continuing to hinder the response in the hardest-hit province.

The outbreak of ‌the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was announced on May 15, though officials have since said it ⁠went undetected for weeks, leaving health ​authorities behind the curve and struggling ⁠to bring it under control.

It is unfolding in three provinces long ‌beset by armed conflict: ‌Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

In its latest situation report published ⁠on Monday, Congo's government said there ⁠had been 35 new confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours, including 10 deaths. That brought the total number of confirmed cases to 550 and the total number of confirmed deaths to 101.

The cases have been recorded in 17 of Ituri's health zones, as well as ‌in seven health zones in North Kivu and ​one health zone in South Kivu.

Mistrust and resistance have hampered the response, with attacks on burial teams and treatment centers reported. The latest such attack occurred on Sunday, a source familiar with the government response said, with a burial team targeted at the Nyamurongo cemetery in Bunia, leaving two people seriously injured and two vehicles damaged.

The situation ​report said the presence of armed groups in Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa — all in ‌Ituri — was continuing "to ‌limit ⁠humanitarian access in multiple health zones affected or at risk."

It said that Bunia, the capital of Ituri, was relatively calm.

Earlier on Monday, Africa's top public health agency said the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo had risen ‌to 544.

The Africa Centers ​for Disease Control and Prevention gave Congo's ‌confirmed Ebola deaths as ⁠88.

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