Motorcycle taxi drivers in Congo rally for Ebola awareness as attacks hinder response

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Dozens of motorcycle taxi drivers spread messages about Ebola in an awareness caravan Tuesday in eastern Congo where community skepticism has led to attacks on health workers who are trying to contain a spreading outbreak of the illness.

The drivers wore white “Stop Ebola” T-shirts and displayed public health messages and illustrations on how to prevent the disease as they rode through the streets of Bunia and Rwampara, two towns in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri at the heart of the outbreak.

The province accounts for more than 90% of the cases. Cases have also been recorded in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, as well as a handful across the border in Uganda.

There have been 115 confirmed deaths from the disease, out of at least 598 cases confirmed so far, according to a report by Congolese authorities late Tuesday.

Still the outbreak has been met with skepticism and misinformation among communities where residents sometimes deny there is an outbreak or strongly oppose the strict measures imposed by health workers on burials of the bodies of victims to minimize the spread of the disease.

Residents in Ituri province have launched at least three attacks on health centers when demanding the bodies of deceased patients. Overall, more than 520 incidents impacting the work of health professionals have been reported, according to Marie Roseline Darnycka Belizaire, WHO’s emergency director for Africa.

Taxi drivers can help spread the word that medical workers are just trying to stop the spread, said Jacques Maliro, the World Health Organization’s Risk Communication and Community Engagement Officer, one of the organizers of the caravan.

“Response teams have been attacked in some areas, and that is one reason why we chose to involve motorcycle taxi drivers. They are an important group because they transport both sick and healthy people, so they too need to be informed and engaged,” Maliro said.

Misinformation spreading in the communities of Ituri have discouraged residents from adhering to health warnings or seeking medical help, health officials say. At the onset of the outbreak, some churches told their congregations that the outbreak is fake and that divine protection makes medical care unnecessary.

“Those who do not believe in it need to understand that it is real,” said Josue Mbabona, a motorcycle taxi driver from the caravan, adding that he has already lost three family members to Ebola.

Front-line health workers, who labor with little pay or rest, have also been unable to reach some communities cut off by conflict involving armed rebels.

Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to neighboring Rwanda or the extremist Islamic State group.

The response has also been hampered by shortages of essential supplies. Residents and local officials in Bunia on Wednesday cited a shortage of water needed for the frequent handwashing recommended to curb the spread of the virus.

The current Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which does not have an approved vaccine or treatment unlike the “Zaire virus,” responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease.

“The vaccine needs to be available so that we can protect ourselves, move forward, and return to normal life,” David Kasimwa, a student participating in the caravan said. “This disease has disrupted many activities: We are no longer able to travel freely because we are afraid,” he added.

Three vaccine candidates are currently in development. Africa’s top public health agency said last month it aims to have a vaccine and treatment against Bundibugyo virus available by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, several countries have imposed travel restrictions or enhanced screening measures for travelers arriving from Ebola-affected areas, though WHO have not recommended broad travel bans.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday urged European countries to tighten travel restrictions on people arriving from Ebola-affected countries in Africa, warning that failure to do so could lead to stricter U.S. travel measures for arrivals from Europe, including during the World Cup.

There are relatively few direct flights between Africa and the United State per day but more than 300 direct daily flights between Europe and the United States.

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo contributed.