By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, July 17 (Reuters) – The transport of Ebola victims’ bodies between different areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, often for funerals in their home communities, risks further spreading the virus, the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.
More than 2,000 Ebola cases and 700 deaths have been recorded in Congo and neighbouring Uganda as of July 14, and around two-thirds of the deaths occurred outside clinics or hospitals, the International Organization for Migration said, making it harder to control burials.
The often fatal viral disease spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals, and causes symptoms that can include high fever, vomiting and internal and external bleeding. This particular epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
Ebola remains highly infectious after death, making funeral practices a critical component of outbreak control.
“If we don’t really manage the dead bodies well, if we don’t engage the community … then it means there will be more spread within the community,” said Andrew Mbala from IOM.
IOM officials said the transport of bodies across districts was a particular challenge as families seek to bury relatives in their home communities.
“There hasn’t been any crossing of dead bodies to another country, but we have seen a lot of crossings of dead bodies within the country,” said Mbala.
During the IOM’s Ebola surveillance activities at points of entry and crossings into different health control zones within the country, 105 bodies were intercepted.
Such movement risks carrying the virus into new areas if bodies are not handled safely, the IOM warned.
The bodies were referred for sample collection and investigation, and then handed over to a team to ensure their safe and dignified burial, the IOM said.
Mbala cited one case in which a body was moved from one area to another, contributing to infections in the newly affected Tshopo province.
“The outbreak has grown by approximately 70% in just two weeks, with an average of more than 40 new cases reported each day,” IOM Regional Director Frantz Celestin said.
The U.N. agency officials said community resistance is hampering efforts to ensure safe burials. Teams responsible for handling bodies and conducting burials have faced opposition and, in some cases, attacks.
“We have seen that in the community there is an element of resistance during the burials,” Mbala said.
World Health Organization officials said that for those infected with Ebola in the country, four out of five of their identified contacts were now being monitored, but one in five still cannot be traced, often because insecurity or community distrust prevents health workers from reaching them.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Miranda Murray, Alexandra Hudson)
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