Congo Conflict Displaced Complicate Ebola Efforts in DRC

Ebola Outbreak Intensifies in DRC-Congo Border Area

Aid worker Jean Marie Lipe struggles to convince people of Ebola’s reality amid the ongoing deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grandmother Passy Nzali, displaced by conflict, now understands bats and chimpanzees can carry Ebola.

Despite this knowledge, many Congolese still believe Ebola is a mystical curse or Western conspiracy, complicating health workers’ efforts to halt its spread. The number of confirmed cases has surpassed 800 since the outbreak was declared on May 15, with Africa CDC Director Jean Kaseya warning that failure to stop the outbreak soon could make it worse than West Africa’s worst outbreak in 2014-2016.

Camps near the Congo-Uganda border are packed with thousands fleeing conflict, making them potential hotspots for infectious diseases like Ebola. In Uganda, CBS News visited a quarantine site for refugees from the Congo, where James Peter, the latest arrival, was under isolation for 21 days after crossing Lake Albert into Uganda due to anti-government violence in his hometown of Goma.