Ebola treatment center set on fire in Congo outbreak hotspot

Rebels set fire to an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of Congo the night of Feb. 24, reports CIDRAP News.

Four things to know:

1. The Ebola treatment center was stationed in the city of Katwa, which is the current epicenter of the country's ongoing Ebola outbreak. In the last three weeks, 57 percent of all newly confirmed Ebola cases occurred in Katwa.

2. The fire forced staff members to evacuate patients from the center, which is now closed, according to Reuters.

3. A nurse died trying to escape the fire, Congo's health ministry confirmed Feb. 25. Ten patients seeking treatment at the facility were safely transferred to a different center.

"Attacks like this could undo the progress we have made," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, tweeted Feb. 25. "Despite this setback, we will keep working with the government, partners & communities to end this outbreak."

4. As of Feb. 25, Congo health officials reported 872 confirmed and probable Ebola cases linked to the outbreak, along with 548 deaths.

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