A burial team was attacked and 11 Ebola patients fled isolation facilities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as the outbreak spread to another health zone in the country’s hardest-hit province.

A team attempting to safely bury an Ebola victim was assaulted in the South Kivu town of Katana, forcing workers to abandon the coffin and allowing community members to handle the body, an incident health officials warned could spark new chains of transmission.

Meanwhile, patients escaped isolation facilities in the epicentre Ituri, while security remained unstable in parts of the province where armed groups continue to limit humanitarian access. Rimba became the 17th affected health zone in Ituri – and the 25th nationally – according to a situation report published on June 3. 

“The geographic expansion toward Rimba demonstrates active community transmission,” the report said.

The developments underscore the challenges facing responders as the outbreak takes on a growing international dimension while efforts to contain it inside Congo remain fragile.

Health officials are struggling to trace contacts, contain infections and build trust in communities – even as neighbouring countries expand preparedness measures and the World Health Organization investigates cross-border spread linked to an infected traveller who visited the United Arab Emirates and Uganda.

“The outbreak had a big head start and we’re still behind, but under the leadership of the Government of DRC, we are catching up,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on June 3 after returning from a visit to the epicentre. “The key to ending...