The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues.

Aid workers wtih a child suspected of dying from Ebola. New York Times/Reuters.

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues due to ignorance, fear and stupidity. The New York Times. In one case a family of a woman dressed up her dead body in an attempt to get past a checkpoint so she could be buried next to her husband, who also died of Ebola. So far 907 cases have been reported and 569 deaths. Despite a new vaccine and other better treatments the disease spreads. 80,000 people have been vaccinated but treatment and prevention plans have been complicated by local traditions and general distrust of authorities. Fear from local militias and the various health organizations heavy handed response has also disrupted the efforts to stop the virus. 

My Comment:

I get the feeling that if it wasn't for the fact that a vaccine was developed that this outbreak would already be worse than the one that hit West Africa in 2014. That outbreak killed more than 11,000 people and spread internationally. It was only with a massive effort that the West African outbreak was stopped. 

It seems that the people here are making some of the same mistakes that the civilians in the 1st outbreak did. Back then their ignorance and stupidity were a major reason why the virus spread so widely. I still remember an incident where the locals attacked an Ebola treatment center and looted it. They even stole infected blankets and this obviously infected a lot of people. 

That story is pretty similar to the family in the current outbreak that tried to smuggle an infected corpse. Whatever sentimental reasons for trying to do so are outweighed by the massive danger that they put everyone in. Not only did they put innocent people at risk they threatened their own lives for basically no reason. 

I do think that the New York Times did downplay one of the major reasons why this outbreak has gotten so bad. Though they did mention that militias are a huge problem, they downplayed how bad it really is. These Islamist militias have been attacking aid workers and have generally made things much more dangerous. 

I do wonder if this outbreak will be brought under control in a decent amount of time. With the typical dysfunction and angry militias running around it's going to be very difficult to get under control. With the development of a vaccine it shouldn't reach the number of victims of the 2014 outbreak but with all the chaos and stupidity it still might...