Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 2 minutes ago
In Mongbwalu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola’s toll is worsened by fear and misinformation. Rumors have spread distrust, triggering violence, the destruction of aid sites and the escape of infected patients.

Category

🗞
News
Transcript
00:01As family and neighbors grieve, local emergency health personnel carefully and respectfully
00:06handle the highly infectious remains of a child victim of Ebola.
00:11An emotional moment made more difficult by a dearth of resources and by disinformation.
00:18There are rumors. This is the first time this community has faced a situation like this.
00:26There has never been an epidemic of this magnitude in the region.
00:34People are now saying the disease came from this or that personality in the region.
00:43And now they have taken action.
00:49Action in the form of an angry mob attacking this hospital demanding the bodies of relatives who died from the
00:56Ebola virus.
00:57Then burning down medical aid tents from the international group Doctors Without Borders. Staffers evacuated.
01:04In the chaos, some 18 Ebola patients fled and blended back into the city.
01:11A search is on to bring them back in hopes they haven't spread the virus further.
01:18At first, when there were deaths, people talked about the coffins being a problem.
01:23And even those who had seen the coffins spread those rumors.
01:31That was the story at first. People were talking about a coffin that kills people. And then people started dying.
01:40Another rumor says that emergency personnel are spreading sickness via radio antennae on their vehicles.
01:47Even though people are dying, they don't believe Ebola exists. That's the first challenge.
01:54At the hospital where that first challenge, Ebola's existence, has been confirmed again and again and again,
02:00they're hoping a pharmaceutical team can quickly develop a vaccine for this strain of the disease to prevent further spread.
02:09So with these people, they're hoping to recognize endangered 100% of the disease.
Comments

Recommended