A survivor of the 2018 Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is warning communities against disinformation as the country confronts a new Bundibugyo strain outbreak declared last month.
The 2018 Ebola was mired by disinformation, hampering response efforts and causing more than 2,000 deaths.
Adam Kabungulu, a teacher, was 27 when he contracted Ebola in 2018. News of the latest outbreak has revived memories of his isolation at Beni General Hospital nearly eight years ago.
"When we received the news confirming the cases in Ituri, it really terrified us -- it still terrifies us so much. Why? Because we don't want what we went through to happen to others. During that previous outbreak, we lost our friends, we lost our brothers, we even lost the nurses who were fighting, who wanted to save us at the time," said Adam Elisha Kabungulu.
His symptoms started a fortnight after attending a community funeral. Although rumors and disinformation were circulating at the time, he went to hospital early and was declared healed after a week in isolation.
"There were all sorts of rumors going round, suggesting that someone might die before they even reached the Ebola Treatment Center. Because everyone thought there weren't really any people at the center. There were only monsters; there were stories like that going around. We were told that they cut off the sick people's body parts there, that they buried empty coffins. We'd heard all that before, and it really scared us. And when you heard you were going to the center, you already knew there would be nothing but death. So we didn't really hold out much hope for life during that time," Kabungulu said.
Many people died because of they avoided the treatment centers. Kabungulu is now urging communities in Ituri and all affected areas to trust medical authorities and healthcare providers instead of conspiracy theories.
"So the message we have is that the public must remain vigilant, because if we fail to take this seriously, this disease will wipe us out. This disease spreads through rumors and gains strength from them, because if, and only if, we don't ignore the rumors, we risk losing many more people. Many more people will die," said Kabungulu.
Although he has been immunized against the Zaire strain of the virus, Kabungulu remains very vigilant about the current Bundibugyo strain outbreak.
He is calling on the public to follow protective measures and the advice of healthcare professionals. And anyone gets infected, his story is proof that you can recover if you seek treatment early.
Confirmed Ebola cases in the DRC have reached 343, the country's Health Minister Roger Kamba said Monday. The latest outbreak, declared on May 15, is the 17th in the DRC since the virus was first identified in 1976.
2018 Ebola survivor warns against disinformation as DRC confronts ongoing outbreak
