Ebola in Butembo: Bishop calls for family responsibility

In Butembo, a city at the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic in North Kivu, a concerning practice persists where families retrieve and handle the bodies of individuals suspected of dying from the virus. This occurs before official teams can conduct secure burials, creating a high-risk situation that could accelerate the transmission of the disease. Bishop Melchisédech Sikuli Paluku of the Butembo-Beni diocese has appealed to these families to exercise greater responsibility.

Local burial teams in Butembo continue to face resistance from some families who insist on taking possession of bodies. These relatives often handle the remains of those believed to have succumbed to Ebola, even before health teams reach the scene. This practice introduces an additional layer of risk for virus transmission within families and the wider community.

Bishop Sikuli Paluku implored families to consider the severe consequences of their actions. "What are they looking for with the bodies? What do they want to achieve?" he questioned. "It would be more coherent if, after that, they stayed in their homes and did not bring the disease to other families there. Because by touching it, they know, they should know that they will die or at least put themselves at great risk. It is an attack, I would say, on human life." He stressed that individuals are aware of the danger but proceed anyway, potentially causing their own deaths and spreading the virus further.

The bishop urged the community to be responsible and conscious of the dangers, emphasizing the need to avoid exposing others to an epidemic that has already claimed many lives. Beyond the refusal of secure burials, response teams are particularly worried that the handling of bodies could reignite transmission chains within families and the community, undermining containment efforts.

“

What are they looking for with the bodies? What do we want to have? It would be more coherent if, after that, they stayed in their homes and did not bring the disease to other families there. Because by touching it, they know, they should know that they will die or at least put themselves at great risk. It is an attack, I would say, on human life. Because one tells you that it is dangerous and you, you go there knowing that it can kill you and kill others too. Let us be responsible, let us be aware of the danger that exists and let us not expose the community to an epidemic that (that has killed several) people.