- Title: Ebola death toll tops 2,000 in eastern Congo outbreak
- Date: 30th August 2019
- Summary: GOMA, CONGO (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WASHING THEIR HANDS / TEMPERATURE BEING CHECKED BANNER ON ROADSIDE READING (English): "STOP EBOLA'' VARIOUS OF TIMOTHY BULIGA TALKING TO A WOMAN (SOUNDBITE) (French) GOMA RESIDENT, TIMOTHY BULIGA, SAYING: "Two thousand people, that's a lot of people. Where up to 2000 people die, that means, there is a problem. We need to reach a level where we have to say no to Ebola, and eradicate it forever. Because the more the epidemic continues, it is we Congolese who will suffer it. We need development in Congo; we want good continuity and for that we must eradicate this disease." BULIGA TALKING TO A LADY (SOUNDBITE) (French) GOMA RESIDENT, TIMOTHY BULIGA, SAYING: "We are told that we must be vaccinated and ... but the important thing is that the disease should end. It's more important to care for people and eradicate the disease. It is only a disease and when it is cured it heals and goes away.'' JOHN BANYENE, PRESIDENT, PROVINCIAL COORDINATION OF NORTH KIVU SOCIETY WALKING INTO HIS OFFICE PAPER READING (English/French): “STOP EBOLA'' JOHN BANYENE SITTING AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (French) PRESIDENT, PROVINCIAL COORDINATION OF NORTH KIVU SOCIETY, JOHN BANYENE, SAYING: "It's a very bad situation because it's a scourge. Since this disease was declared in the province, it's been a year now, and with 2000 deaths, it's already too much. And you know, a few months ago, this disease was declared a health problem of international concern that shows that it is a great danger." VARIOUS OF EBOLA RESPONSE COORDINATOR STEVE AHUKA IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (French) EBOLA RESPONSE COORDINATOR, STEVE AHUKA, SAYING: "The most important thing for the population is to know that the number of deaths will continue to rise if the community does not become aware of the danger, if it does not realize that there are measures to prevent other people from dying." VARIOUS OF AHUKA IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (French) EBOLA RESPONSE COORDINATOR, STEVE AHUKA, SAYING: "What is also important is that we will reach nearly a thousand cured people. People who were infected but thanks to the care they received, thanks to the fact that they understood and came on time to the treatment centers and they were able to get cured. And that's what we need to put into consideration and give a lot more push and together with the community so that we can move forward.'' AHUKA AT HIS DESK VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND TRAFFIC AT A MARKET
- Embargoed: 13th September 2019 08:01
- Keywords: Ebola milestone Vaccination Outbreak Epidemic
- Location: GOMA, CONGO
- City: GOMA, CONGO
- Country: Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001AUET6IV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The death toll from Democratic Republic of Congo's year-long Ebola outbreak has climbed above 2,000, government data showed on Friday (August 30), as responders battle to overcome community mistrust and widespread security problems.
The government team overseeing the response said the number of confirmed and probable cases had also hit a milestone of more than 3,000 in what has become the second-worst epidemic of the virus on record.
Despite the development of an effective vaccine and treatments, health workers have struggled to control the spread of the disease in remote and conflict-hit areas of eastern Congo, where many locals are wary of the response effort.
"For the treatments to work, people need to trust them and the medical staff who administer them. This will take time, resources and a lot of hard work," the International Federation of the Red Cross said in a statement.
This is Congo's 10th Ebola outbreak, but it is the first in the densely forested hillside provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, where militia-led violence and ethnic killing have undermined security in certain areas for decades.
The government data released on Friday showed Ebola deaths reaching 2,006 and cases at 3,004.
Only the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa has been deadlier. More than 11,300 people died then out of 28,000 who were infected.
(Production: Angela Ukomadu, Dfafar Sabiti) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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