Ebola treatment center in Congo is attacked again; 1 dead

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Saleh Mwanamilongo, Associated Press Updated 3:36 pm CST, Saturday, March 9, 2019

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Heavily armed assailants again attacked an Ebola treatment center in the heart of eastern Congo's deadly outbreak on Saturday, with one police officer killed and health workers injured, authorities said, while frightened patients waited in isolation rooms for the gunfire to end.

The early-morning attack in Butembo came less than a week after the treatment center reopened following an attack last month, which forced Doctors Without Borders to suspend operations in the city amid warnings that ending this outbreak is impossible if health workers aren't protected.

Dozens of armed groups are active in mineral-rich eastern Congo, though some have allowed health workers access to administer Ebola vaccines and track contacts of infected people after delicate negotiations.

. . .

The attack occurred hours before the World Health Organization director-general and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director visited the center, which remained open. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus encouraged workers to continue their fight against the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which is spreading in a region compared to a war zone.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/medical/article/Ebola-treatment-center-in-Congo-is-attacked-13675666.php

[applegrove]

1. What a nightmare. People destabilized by decades of war panic in a crisis

and do the exact wrong thing. Thousands have died so far due to the outbreak.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

2. I do NOT understand.

What possible rationale is there for attacking a health clinic trying to stop one of the deadliest diseases on Earth ?

The article suggests motive in "their own interest." What could those possibly be ?

[certainot]

3. this is the kind of shit trump's institutional and mercenary support would do in preparation for

2020 elections and creating the kind of disaster/fear that will help trump

they did it with obama and ebola (2014?) and with talk radio to generate the buzz on 1500 radio stations it will help trump /republicans in the elections

ebola-illegal immigrants was already used by republicans. they'll do it again. the news about this will intensify and trump will start talking about it as why we need the wall, for instance.

[Eugene]

4. MSF describes the situation as toxic. Regular people don't trust the health workers

and the government's heavy-handed tactics compound the problem.

Reuters: Battle against Ebola being lost amid militarized response, MSF says

“There is a lot of militarization of the Ebola response,” she said. “Using police to force people into complying with health measures is not only unethical, it’s totally counterproductive. The communities are not the enemy.”

Involvement of security and police forces merely deepened suspicions that Ebola was being used as a political tool, she said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-ebola-congo/battle-against-ebola-being-lost-amid-militarized-response-msf-says-idUSKCN1QO1F1

[DRoseDARs]

6. Yeah their government has never been accused of being competent, ethical or stable.

Christ, just get the fuck out of the way and let the doctors work.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. Those are some very special people in MSF.

There's no way you could get me to go into the hellholes they work in. They deserve all the support we can give them.

[DRoseDARs]

5. What's to negotiate? Let the docs work or bleed to death out of your everything. It's fucking ebola!

eom

[GulfCoast66]

8. Times like these I wish I believed that the MSF doctors had a special place in heaven.

Those are some brave people and the true hero’s into today’s world.

[MFM008]

9. they had better watch out

for karma, would be to bad if they came down with ebola.