Red Cross volunteers die from suspected Ebola in DR Congo

Three Red Cross volunteers died in the Democratic Republic of Congo from suspected Ebola likely caught while managing dead bodies, the organisation has said.

They are believed to have contracted Ebola on 27 March while working in the eastern region of Ituri on a project unrelated to the virus, before the outbreak was identified.

The volunteers are thought to be among the first to die in DR Congo's Ebola outbreak, which has resulted in more than 170 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said they had died after serving their communities "with courage and humanity".

The outbreak "had not been identified" when Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane were working with the dead bodies, the IFRC said.

They died between 5 and 16 May and had been working in the town of Mongbwalu, which is now considered the epicentre of the outbreak.

On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the public health risk from the virus in DR Congo from "high" to "very high".

WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk in the wider region in Africa was "high" but remained "low" globally.

The outbreak involves a rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, which has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected.

Health experts warn that touching the body of someone who died from Ebola can spread the virus because bodily fluids remain highly infectious after death.

DR Congo's neighbour, Uganda, has also reported cases of the virus. On Saturday, its health ministry confirmed three new cases - bringing the number of confirmed infections there to five.

Meanwhile, the African Centres for Disease Control warned 10 other countries on the continent were at risk of being affected: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

In a separate development on Saturday, DR Congo's government suspended all commercial and private flights to and from Bunia - Ituri's provincial capital.

"Humanitarian, medical or emergency flights will only be authorised after special approval from the aviation and health authorities," the country's transport ministry said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said a tent it had provided in Mongbwalu to treat Ebola patients was burnt on Friday.

"Understandably, there are still many uncertainties and fears among the community in this rapidly evolving context," it said.

"This incident highlights just how critical sustained community engagement and trust building are."

The previous day, an angry crowd elsewhere in Ituri set alight part of a hospital after the family and friends of a young man thought to have died from Ebola were prevented from taking his body away for burial.

Along with Ituri, cases have been detected in the North and South Kivu regions. Parts of the two eastern areas are under the control of the M23, a rebel group that controls parts of the region - which has brought additional difficulties in dealing with Ebola.

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