A nurse helping to treat Ebola patients in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was murdered by a machete-armed gang.
The unnamed nurse was helping to fight the disease outbreak, which has killed almost 5,000 people and infected almost 10,000 since May.
Health officials said the nurse, along with a second medical worker, was targeted by the group that claimed the health workers were ‘spreading the disease’ by contaminating local water sources.
The nurse had been working in the town of Bafwasende and raising awareness about the deadly Bundibugyo strain.
A similar incident happened in late September, when a politician was beaten to death after speaking about the Ebola outbreak on the radio.
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Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the UDPS party in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was attacked in his neighbourhood after the radio show.
The politician had promoted disease prevention measures to tackle the spread of Ebola shortly before being attacked, his party said.
According to the UDPS party, he was beaten and had his belongings stolen before his house was set on fire, Reuters reports.
Neither the party nor law enforcement officials have confirmed how many suspected attackers were involved or who they were.
The UDPS federation in Butembo said the politician was an ‘innocent victim for having defended the party’s position on the existence of the Ebola virus disease […] and the threat it poses to the population.’
While it is unclear what the motive was behind the alleged beating, violence against Ebola response teams and health facilities is not uncommon in DRC.
Misinformation and false claims about the disease have fuelled attacks, including unfounded claims that Ebola is not real.
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