Rebel attacks and political scaremongering raise risk of Ebola spreading in the Congo

The World Health Organization has warned that an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could quickly spread because of a “perfect storm” of escalating problems, including rebel fighting and mistrust of international responders.

“We are now extremely concerned that several factors may be coming together to create a perfect storm,” WHO’s head of emergency response, Peter Salama, told a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

A rebel attack on the town of Beni, where WHO is based, interrupted the process of tracing and monitoring people infected with Ebola around the North Kivu province. Some 120 people have been infected …