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Burundi
Southern Region/Port of Rumonge: Panic of Ebola virus contamination
Those working at the port of Rumonge have been gripped by panic since the announcement of the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Medical teams and technical equipment are slow to be deployed. The chief medical officer of the Rumonge health district acknowledges the danger faced by the personnel assigned to monitor the disease.
By Félix Nzorubonanya
25/05/2026
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The buildings constructed at the port of Rumonge in recent years for Ebola virus disease control and surveillance have been destroyed by rising waters in Lake Tanganyika. This complicates the work of monitoring the disease, according to Dr. Alexis Nkurunziza, chief medical officer of the Rumonge health district.
He explains that two nurses are assigned to take the temperature of everyone entering or leaving. He believes these nurses are at risk of infection because temperature checks and traveler screening should be done in a suitable location, which is not currently the case.
A well-founded fear
BA, a trader at the port of Rumonge, emphasizes his deep fear that those who work there are highly exposed to the disease. And with good reason: the port is a major entry point for people arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Furthermore, following the statement by the Burundian Ministry of Public Health on the disease, he observes that nothing is being done to strengthen its control and surveillance.
He laments that many people are not taking precautions against this terrible disease, continuing to behave as if nothing is wrong.
No equipment or technical teams are on site, even though the majority of those passing through the port of Rumonge come from areas where the healthcare system is underdeveloped. Healthcare facilities there are insufficient or nonexistent.
Little information is circulating.
MN, a woman who runs a restaurant in the port of Rumonge, regrets that the preventative measures against the Ebola virus are not known by people who work at this port.
She points out that buckets of water for washing hands are not readily available in some places; the port has only one tap where water flows, while hundreds of people spend all day there.
Latrines have been destroyed by the rising waters of Lake Tanganyika, with all the resulting consequences for the health of the population.
She suggests that awareness sessions be conducted with people who embark or disembark from boats, as well as with people who carry out activities on them, to inform them of the attitudes and behaviors to follow in the face of this disease.
She notes that cross-border movements have intensified in recent months, increasing the risk of infection due to close contact.
The municipal risk management platform is on alert
Augustin Minani, the municipal administrator of Rumonge, reports that the risk and disaster management platform is on alert to monitor the population's behavior in the face of the disease on a daily basis.
He asks anyone who sees symptoms of this disease to alert health facilities or administrative authorities to evacuate suspects to the nearest health facility.
The administrator is asking the population to observe hygiene measures, to refrain from eating meat from dead wild animals, and not to touch a corpse without any protection.
https://www.iwacu-burundi.org/regio...-panique-de-contamination-par-le-virus-ebola/