The Ebola outbreak continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo despite efforts to contain it. Reverand Bisoke Balikenga spoke to CBN News about the desperation people in his city of Bunia are experiencing. Bunia is one of the hardest hit areas in Eastern Africa.
“Pray for us in order that God can stop the spread of the disease among the people, stop the people dying because so far we’ve lost many people,” he said, adding Americans can contribute to his ministry, Hearts for the Congo.
Hearts for the Congo shares the love of Christ to orphans, refugees, and the poor in one of the worst war-torn areas of the world. Now the Ebola outbreak is making life in Bunia even more difficult.
“The health center has been destroyed by the young people,” Reverand Balikenga said, “The people like to get their dead body.”
Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, DTM&h, FIDSA, an infectious disease physician who worked served in two major Ebola responses told CBN News the disease is spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids like blood and saliva.
“The highest risk of spread is within the first 48 hours after death,” he said, “So managing cadavers is very important.”
That’s proving difficult in many areas. Health centers have been attacked because workers refused to hand over the bodies of Ebola victims to their families.
“They’re angry because they want to bury. In Africa, the burial is something to take it seriously. They like to honor their loved ones by being at the burial,” Reverand Balikenga said, “But now when someone passes away from Ebola, no family can have access to it. It’s only the health people who can bury the dead body.”
Despite quarantines, Reverand Balikenga is now a part of a massive education program to teach local residents how to prevent the spread of a disease that has a death rate of between 20 and 50-percent.
“So that means that when folks that are getting infected somewhere between one in five to one in two people could die as a result of that,” Dr. Evans said, “So this is really serious. It’s one of the most deadliest viruses out there, which is why it’s so important that we control this.”
Dr. Evans said this particular strain of Ebola appears to resist most vaccines and treatments.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it is expanding the Ebola screening program in the U.S.
“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting, “And so the State Department and other agencies are working very hard to contain this crisis to the countries where it’s currently located.”
U.S. travelers arriving in the U.S. who recently traveled to Congo, South Sudan or Uganda must now pass through and submit to Ebola screenings at one of four U.S. airports. They are Washington Dulles International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
A growing concern is that three weeks from now, soccer fans from across the globe will descent on the U.S. as it hosts the FIFA World Cup.
