Misinformation and mistrust are complicating the fight against an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where aid workers say many people deny the disease exists or believe alcohol can protect them.
In Ituri province in the north-east of the country, where most of the more than 900 suspected cases have been recorded, around one in three people believes Ebola is a myth, aid organization ActionAid said in a release on Monday.
"We are not just fighting a deadly virus, we are fighting myths, fear and deep-seated suspicion," said Saani Yakubu, ActionAid's country director in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He said the organization was working intensively to run awareness campaigns in communities to counter myths and false information and encourage people to take protective measures. While some people deny Ebola exists altogether, others believe strong alcoholic drinks can protect them from infection, Yakubu said.
A lack of awareness has repeatedly led to confrontations in recent days. Ebola patients fled a hospital in the town of Mungwalu on Sunday after relatives of a dead patient set fire to treatment tents because they had been refused the body.
People who have died of Ebola remain highly infectious and must be buried under strict safety measures.
The Ebola patients who fled have not yet been found.
