Congo Ebola doctor dies in Kisangani as outbreak spreads beyond epicenter
A Congolese doctor has died of Ebola in Kisangani, where cases are rising, as the outbreak spreads beyond Ituri province.
A young Congolese doctor has died of Ebola in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province, as the outbreak spreads well beyond its original epicenter in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Victor Kingombe, an internal medicine physician, died on Thursday at the city's Ebola treatment center, which had been inaugurated less than two weeks earlier. His death was announced by the doctors' union, prompting colleagues and family to gather for a funeral where healthcare workers in full protective gear carried his body to a coffin.
"Our internal medicine doctor is gone. Doctor Victor, why? Why, Doctor? Our internal medicine doctor," fellow doctor Agnes Kalokola said, weeping outside the treatment center as other health workers consoled one another.
Kisangani first reported Ebola cases in late June. While cases have declined this month in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, neighboring provinces have recorded sharp increases. In North Kivu, cases have surged 73 percent over three weeks.
The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, driven by insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said the outbreak is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Health workers have also faced widespread community mistrust, with treatment centers and burial teams attacked on numerous occasions. Rumors have spread widely, and many people do not believe Ebola is real.
Didier Lomoyo Iteku, the vice governor of Tshopo province, attended Kingombe's funeral and viewed the doctor's body through a plastic window before addressing the disbelief.
"This disease is real. Here is a doctor who was here trying to save lives, and he himself was a victim. He has just left us. It's a sad reality. But we accept it as it is, knowing that god is the master of time and circumstance," Iteku said.
Congo began vaccinating healthcare workers in Kisangani in August with the Ervebo vaccine, originally developed for Ebola caused by the Zaire virus. This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, but vaccination against Zaire was found to offer some protection. Trials are also underway across Congo for potential treatments and post-exposure prophylaxis.