Ebola patients flee in attacks on Congo health facilities, hobbling response

Medical Director of Mungwalu General Hospital, Richard Lokudu, speaks to Reuters at the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in Mongbwalu, Djugu Territory of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 23, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere

BUNIA, May 25 (Reuters) - Doctors ⁠operating on the front lines of the fight against Ebola in Congo, already grappling with shortages of basic supplies, are now also having to deal ⁠with attacks on their facilities and fleeing patients as the virus spreads rapidly.

At least three such incidents have occurred in the northeastern province ‌of Ituri where the first Ebola cases were reported, including two at the weekend targeting the same hospital that permitted more than two dozen patients to run away.