Across recent Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the wider Great Lakes region, some people who become ill do not immediately seek hospital care. Multiple reports drawing on Associated Press accounts describe a pattern in which residents choose either the nearest hospital or the shrine of a traditional healer, with the latter choice sometimes leading to worse outcomes. Sources say many communities interpret the onset of hemorrhagic fever as a spiritual affliction, prompting people to seek herbs and prayers rather than medical treatment. The reports also note that misinformation and distrust of health workers can contribute to delays in reaching care. In addition, humanitarian workers describe heightened risk not only for patients but also for health workers and for religious leaders and worshippers who gather while transmission is ongoing. Because Ebola spreads through close contact with the bodily fluids of sick people and deceased patients, delayed or unsafe care can increase exposure. To respond, aid groups and public health efforts increasingly involve religious leaders to encourage safer practices during outbreaks, including promoting medical care and modifying burial-related practices. The current situation is described as especially complex in a region that has experienced many Ebola outbreaks since 1976.
Ebola outbreaks in Congo hindered as some patients seek traditional healers over hospitals
Across recent Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the wider Great Lakes region, some people who become ill do not immediately seek hospital care. Multiple reports drawing on Associ...
- Some Ebola patients delay or avoid hospitals and instead seek help from traditional healers or spiritual sites.
- Reports attribute this to beliefs that hemorrhagic fever is a spiritual affliction, along with mistrust of health workers and misinformation.
- Ebola transmission is linked to close contact with bodily fluids from sick people or the deceased.
- Religious figures and attendees can be put at risk when gatherings occur during ongoing spread.
- Humanitarian and public health efforts increasingly involve religious leaders to promote medical care and safer practices, including during burials.
(MedPage Today) -- Whenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences. Many view the onset of hemorrhagic fever as...
16 hours agoBUNDIBUGYO, Uganda — Whenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences. Many view the onset of hemorrhagic fever as a spiritual affliction and seek out herbs and prayers instead of going to the hospital. This is the case now in Congo, which is suffering its seventeenth outbreak of Ebola since 1976, when the virus was first identified in the rich Congo Basin ecosystem. Five decades later, the virus continues to mystify many of the sick in Africa while turning religious leaders into first responders in a deadly emergency. The current outbreak’s victims include health workers without protective gear as well as pastors and worshippers who gathered while Ebola was spreading, according to humanitarian workers and others who spoke to The Associated Press. Ebola spreads through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids. The current outbreak is particularly worrisome in a region where many are distrustful of health workers and refuse to seek m
2 days agoBUNDIBUGYO, Uganda (AP) — Whenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences.
2 days agoWhenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences.
2 days agoBUNDIBUGYO, Uganda (AP) — Whenever Ebola comes, some of the afflicted choose the road to the nearest hospital. Others take the path to the shrine of a traditional healer, often with devastating consequences. Many view the onset of hemorrhagic fever as a spiritual affliction and seek out herbs and prayers instead of going to the […]
2 days agoWhenever Ebola comes, some of those stricken choose the road to the nearest hospital
3 days ago
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