Ebola Case: 6‑Year‑Old Patient Found Safe After Hospital Attack

Sat Jun 20 2026 09:17:23 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

After armed men stormed an eastern Congo hospital, a 6‑year‑old Ebola patient was found safe and stable, amid a growing outbreak in the region.

A six‑year‑old girl and her mother were taken from a hospital in Butembo by angry armed men. They located them in an Ebola treatment centre 18 km away, where the child’s condition is stable. The incident highlights the dangerous attacks on healthcare sites during the current outbreak that has already seen 230 deaths and 890 cases, and has spurred calls for better victim protection and safer burial practices. WHO officials say the outbreak is still evolving, and the Congolese government has bolstered surveillance and infrastructure. The Bundibugyo species, for which no vaccine exists yet, remains the main threat in the region.

Ebola Case: 6‑Year‑Old Patient Found Safe After Hospital Attack

On Monday, armed men stormed a hospital in Butembo, an eastern town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A six‑year‑old girl and her mother were taken from the building by men who, according to Dr. Lubambo Maboko Gaston, were very angry. The couple finally turned up at an Ebola treatment centre 18 km (11 miles) away, where the child was checked and found stable.

The incident comes amid a growing Ebola outbreak that has already recorded more than 230 deaths and 890 confirmed cases. Health workers say the virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids, which makes temporary isolation tents and burial practices especially dangerous if not handled properly. Because the body of an infected person remains highly contagious, safe burial is critical to preventing new infections.

Other attacks in the region have tested the limits of local health security. In late May, police in Mongbwalu fired warning shots after angry crowds attempted to reclaim the bodies of loved ones from a health facility. Earlier, groups set fire to isolation tents in Rwampara, a town 85 km (53 miles) south‑east of Mongbwalu, after a man thought to have died from Ebola was denied a body for burial.

According to WHO Africa emergency chief Marie‑Roseline Belizaire, the outbreak is serious but the response is growing stronger every day. She also reported that 75 health workers had caught Ebola, with 17 of them passing away. The WHO has pledged $3.9 m (about £2.9 m) to fighting the outbreak, while Africa CDC announced a $319 m budget for the fight.

The disease is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species, for which no vaccine is currently available. The WHO says it could take months to develop a treatment. The outbreak is concentrated in the provinces of Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu, and it is closely linked to the presence of the M23 rebel group that controls large areas of the region. Authorities have stepped up surveillance, contact tracing and treatment infrastructure as the crisis escalates.

For more background on the situation, read the BBC Africa coverage of the ongoing Ebola outbreak and the health worker’s safety measures in Congo.