It looks surreal. A team of men and women in white protective suits walks through a refugee camp in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are on their way to the tent of a 39-year-old woman who was recently taken to the hospital with Ebola.
They take their spray devices filled with chlorine water and begin to clean the tent canvas. Soon the whole street smells like a swimming pool. Residents watch.
Aid workers in eastern Congo still have not managed to get the Ebola outbreak under control. More than 3,600 people have died so far. The real fight against the virus is not fought in hospitals, but precisely in the villages where the virus spreads.
'I Am Not Afraid'
Claude leads the way. The Congolese man heads the local disinfection team, which was set up with support from local authorities. Normally he works in the pharmacy of the village clinic. Now he stands at the frontline of the Ebola outbreak.
"We have to do this work to break the chain of infection," he says. "We not only clean the house, but also the communal toilet of this neighborhood."
Ebola does not spread through the air like COVID, but through direct contact with a patient or contaminated bodily fluids. That is why places where a patient has lived or died must be carefully disinfected. Think of surfaces where blood, vomit, or excrement may have landed.
Armed Groups
Claude knows his work carries risks. Yet he does not hesitate. This is partly because he already lost a niece to Ebola. "I am not afraid to do this work. If I were afraid, the virus would eventually come to my home. To my wife and my children. We must stop this at all costs. If we do not intervene, it can kill us all."
His village Djatsi, located among green hills, is one of the new Ebola hotspots. It makes clear why it is so difficult to get the outbreak under control. Not only is it in a remote place accessible only via unpaved roads, it is also an unsafe region.
Djatsi partly consists of regular buildings and partly of a refugee camp where people live in tents. Armed groups have been active for decades and there is ethnic violence. This is partly because there is gold in the ground that everyone wants to get their hands on.
Poverty in the region also contributes to the spread of the virus. Many Congolese scrape for leftover gold here to get by. Miners and traders move from place to place and can unknowingly carry the virus. The outbreak thus moves to new places where not always all facilities or manpower are available to tackle it properly.
Not Going to the Hospital in Time
In this cocktail of circumstances, Claude stands with his small team and their spray devices. He is not completely alone. While they clean, another team of educators goes into the neighborhood. Their goal is to find people who may have had contact with the infected woman.
They start with her sister. The sister tells the educators that their mother died three weeks ago. "Was that Ebola too?" The woman shrugs. They explain what to watch for and what to do if she develops symptoms. "Do you have a headache, fever, or are you very tired? That can be Ebola. If you feel sick, you must go to the hospital immediately and not wait."
It seems simple, but precisely these kinds of conversations can make the difference in breaking the chain of infection and saving lives. Because many people still do not go or do not go to the hospital in time. They stay at home, where they are cared for by family members. This way infections continue and sometimes multiple fatal victims occur within one family.
Rumors and Lack of Money
Doctor Pomme walks along with the team going into the neighborhood. The health expert from UNICEF sees that people really still need to be persuaded to seek help.
"There are rumors. It is said that everyone who goes to the hospital actually catches the disease there. But sometimes it is simply a matter of money: people cannot afford transportation to the hospital."
When Claude and his team appear in their white suits in the neighborhood, that is not always appreciated. Claude has been pelted with stones before. But he also sees a bright spot. "Slowly they accept our work," he says. "That is because we ourselves live here. That creates more trust. We are this village."