The Red Cross announced on Saturday that three volunteers died in the incident Democratic Republic of Congo after contracting Ebola while on the job in March.
The country in the center of Africa has been hit by an outbreak of a deadly disease caused by the World Health Organization which has declared it as a global public health emergency.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the volunteers came from the DR Congo Red Cross in Ituri, in the northeastern province of the province. the epidemic.
They work for the Mongbwalu branch of the organization in Djugu area, Ituri.
“Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane are believed to have contracted the Ebola virus on the job, when they were carrying out mortuary management activities on March 27 as part of a non-Ebola relief campaign,” the IFRC said in a statement.
“At the time of the intervention, the public was unaware of the outbreak of Ebola, and it was not yet identified how the disease broke out. They are among the first known victims of the disease.”
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The IFRC said one person died on May 5 and two others died on May 15 and 16.
“These volunteers lost their lives while serving their communities with courage and humanity,” the Geneva-based IFRC said. “Their dedication reflects the extraordinary dedication shown every day by Red Cross volunteers who work in the most complex and dangerous environments to support vulnerable people.”
The IFRC, with more than 17 million volunteers in more than 191 countries, is the largest humanitarian network in the world. It said it is still committed to supporting communities affected by Ebola and strengthening efforts to deal with the disease.
Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency room physician and professor of public health at Brown University who survived Ebola after contracting it while working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea in 2014, he previously told CBS News that he is most concerned about health workers responding to the outbreak.
“Healthcare workers are the group I’m most concerned about because they were very close to people when they were most infected, especially when people died,” said Spencer.
Ebola is a deadly viral disease that is spread through direct contact with body fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. The type of ebolavirus involved in the outbreak, Bundibugyo virus, is rare and has There is no vaccine or approved treatment.
On Friday, the World Health Organization said it had raised Congo’s risk assessment to the highest level.
WHO upgraded its risk assessment level from high to very high in Congo, while maintaining the regional risk level at high and the global risk level at low.
There are 82 confirmed cases and seven confirmed deaths in DR Congo, with about 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, the WHO said on Friday.
