The Red Cross said on Tuesday that the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has not yet reached its peak, warning that medical providers have a long battle ahead of them.
"We are afraid this could last one year before we can end this disease peak," said Bruno Michon, who is on the ground in the north-eastern Congolese city of Bunia on behalf of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he described a crisis of confidence that is making it difficult to combat the outbreak, which was detected in mid-May.
Michon said some people in Congolese communities still believe the disease has been invented to secure more money from abroad, while others feel that special protective measures imposed on burials to prevent transmission from corpses are an attack on culture and tradition.
The Red Cross, which organizes the burials, has sought to address these concerns by using body bags with a transparent plastic window so that families can see their relatives' faces.
"Building trust takes time," Michon said. "It requires honesty, patience and humility. But in this outbreak, it is not optional. It is lifesaving."
According to the Congolese health authorities, more than 780 cases of the life-threatening disease have now been confirmed through laboratory tests.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through physical contact and contact with bodily fluids. The current outbreak is particularly difficult to contain, partly because there is currently neither a vaccine nor a specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.
