KINSHASA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Mongbwalu, a gold-mining town in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has now become one of the hardest-hit areas in the country's latest Ebola outbreak.
In Shuni 1, a neighborhood of Mongbwalu, the fatal virus has entered homes, funerals, and daily conversations, spreading not only through fragile health systems and crowded neighborhoods but also through fear, rumors, and mistrust.
Behind half-open doors, people watched the burial team in silence, looking either frightened or irritated, as another resident that they knew had succumbed to the disease.
In a community where rumors travel faster than official health messages, some residents whispered that health workers had come to take the body away, while others feared that the body bags, coffins, or burial procedures themselves were killing people.
According to the latest figures released by the DRC health authorities, the Mongbwalu health zone has reported 339 suspected cases and 88 suspected deaths, placing it among the worst-affected health zones in the current outbreak.
Moreover, the eastern DRC is already strained by armed violence, population movements, and limited access to basic health services.
John Tumudjibe, supervisor of the burial team, did not rush toward the body but first looked for the dead man's relatives and asked one family member to accompany the team into the house.
Before touching the body, he had to calm the living. "We have come to help you and to protect you," he told the relatives. "We must secure the body so that you are not infected again. The disease exists."
He explained, step by step, what would happen next: respectful handling of the body, safe wrapping in line with Ebola response protocols, disinfection, transport to a burial site, and a final farewell under controlled safety measures.
Traditional burial practices often involve washing, touching, or staying close to the body. However, the virus can spread through contact with bodily fluids, making unsafe burials a major driver of new transmission chains.
Kundingeda, a relative of the deceased, expressed his concern that other family members might have been exposed. "Before, I was ignorant. But today, I understand that this (Ebola) is real," he said. "If a doctor tells you that you are sick, you must believe him. I saw with my own eyes how my brother ended up in a bag."
Gradually, some residents who had initially threatened to resist the burial team began to understand that their responsibility is to take the body without respect, but to protect the household and the wider community.
The scene in Shuni 1 reflected a wider challenge facing Ebola responders in Mongbwalu and other affected areas. They have to battle not only the spread of the outbreak, but also fear, rumor, and distrust.
Since May 21, at least three reported incidents have targeted Ebola treatment or isolation facilities in Ituri Province.
In Rwampara, a town near the provincial capital Bunia, protesters set fire to Ebola treatment tents after authorities refused to release the body of a suspected Ebola victim for a traditional burial.
Two days later, in Mongbwalu, residents attacked and burned a tent set up with support from Doctors Without Borders for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases.
On Sunday evening, young men stormed Mongbwalu General Hospital, demanding the release of two relatives' bodies, forcing medical staff to scramble to evacuate patients as gunfire rang out nearby.
Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of the National Institute of Biomedical Research and one of the world's leading Ebola experts who discovered the virus in the 1970s, told Xinhua that distrust of outsiders could weaken the response.
"When people see that instructions and measures are announced by people from their own area, they believe them. If it is someone from Kinshasa, they doubt," Muyembe said, stressing that building trust is the priority.
"At first, we believed rumors saying there were coffins that killed people," said Iza Banga, a Congolese whose neighbor died in the Ebola outbreak. "But now we see that people are dying almost every day here in our neighborhood... We are really afraid for our lives, and we want the authorities to find a solution."
The burial teams are also working under harsh conditions.
According to Tumudjibe, Ebola response workers in Mongbwalu, especially those handling safe burials, lack even basic support. They worked "free of charge," but out of a sense of responsibility.
After securing a body, he said, each worker is supposed to drink at least 1.5 liters of water.
"Sometimes we cannot even buy water for the team. But we continue because we want to save the community of Mongbwalu," he added.
