BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Mourners stood at a distance as a small coffin was lowered into the grave. Health workers wearing masks and gloves joined a priest who prayed. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
A 6-month-old girl was the latest victim of the Ebola outbreak sweeping through eastern Congo. She was the third child in her orphanage to die.
After a month reporting from the outbreak's epicenter with AP photographer Moses Sawasawa, this quiet scene has stayed with me the most.
From afar, the epidemic is often measured in numbers: over 1,300 confirmed cases, hundreds of deaths, tens of thousands of people who may have had contact with them.
The funeral is when we truly realized the gravity of the outbreak. Ebola does not distinguish between young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and the poor, civilians and health professionals.
And of course it's not over. Experts say the peak of infections hasn't been reached. There are no approved treatments for this type of Ebola, Bundibugyo, and the arrival of any vaccine is said to be months away.
Another death that stayed with us was that of a medical student a few months from graduation. She had been the hope of her family and a badly needed health professional in a remote region where outbreaks, like this one, can go undetected for weeks.
At her funeral, her mother was inconsolable.
This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.