Safe-burial teams in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing exhaustion, attacks and a rapidly rising workload as an Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 3,200 people among more than 6,500 reported cases, according to an Associated Press report published Monday. The teams work almost daily in Ituri, the epicenter, preparing bodies and disinfecting coffins while trying to prevent funerals from generating new infections.
Authorities have deployed small teams across outbreak hot spots since the Bundibugyo virus was detected in May. AP reported that members of one team receive $20 a day and say physical and psychological fatigue is mounting. Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood or bodily fluids, and experts warn that bodies can retain large amounts of active virus after death.
The response has created painful conflict with families whose customary rites include washing, wrapping or touching relatives. Team member Yuma Adolphe told AP that restrictions on those practices cause misunderstandings. Teams have faced attacks since May, while insecurity, displacement and heavy population movement in eastern Congo have made surveillance, laboratory testing and contact tracing harder.
WHO data dated September 4 listed 6,522 confirmed cases and 3,134 confirmed deaths in Congo, a case-fatality ratio of 48 percent. An earlier detailed WHO assessment said cases had reached 60 health zones across six provinces by August 26 and rated national risk very high, risk to neighboring countries high, and wider regional and global risk low. WHO continues to classify the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
There is no approved vaccine or treatment specifically proven for Bundibugyo virus disease. Congo began giving the licensed Ervebo vaccine to some health workers on August 27, but WHO says its protection against this strain in humans is unknown and a clinical trial is essential. FHI 360 says its project supports 48 burial teams in Ituri and North Kivu that have conducted more than 3,000 safe burials since May, sometimes as many as seven per team in one day.
Responders say trust is as important as protective equipment. FHI 360 reports that community workers reach about 7,500 people each week through household visits and dialogues, explaining procedures and preserving safe prayers and rites. With health workers also demanding overdue pay, agencies say controlling transmission will require sustained staffing, contact monitoring, secure operations and support for both bereaved families and exhausted frontline personnel.
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