Children Dying at Unprecedented Rate in Latest Ebola Outbreak

Poor conditions at traditional healers considered cause

The health ministry of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced over the weekend that children are dying at an unprecedented rate in the latest Ebola outbreak. Officials believe poor sanitary conditions of traditional healers are to blame. Many children affected by a malaria outbreak near Beni, the center of the latest outbreak, are contracting Ebola after visiting traditional healers who have also treated Ebola patients.

According to health ministry data, of the 120 confirmed Ebola cases in Beni, 30 of them are under age 10, and 27 of them have died. Ebola cases have increased dramatically in recent weeks, prompting the World Health Organization to urge a stepped up response. Current efforts are complicated by armed groups and community distrust of health workers.

Read more about the latest Ebola outbreak here.