3 Red Cross Volunteers Died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo

JAKARTA - At least three Red Cross volunteers in the Democratic Republic of Congo died of Ebola infection while handling corpses.

Citing BBC International, Sunday, May 24, the three contracted Ebola on March 27 while working in the eastern Ituri region on a project unrelated to the virus, before the outbreak was finally identified.

The three, named Alikana Udumusi Augustin, Sezabo Katanabo, and Ajiko Chandiru Viviane, are believed to be volunteers who died for the first time in the midst of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has 170 deaths and 750 suspected cases.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement that the three died after serving their communities "with courage and humanity".

The IFRC added that the outbreak was "not identified" when the three Red Cross volunteers were handling the bodies.

All three died between May 5 and 16 while handling bodies in the city of Mongbwalu, which is now considered the epicenter of the outbreak.

On Friday this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the public health risk of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo from "high" to "very high".

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also said the risk of Ebola spreading in the African region was "high", but "low" globally.

The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo involves a rare Ebola species, known as Bundibugyo. To date, there is no proven vaccine and it kills about a third of those infected in the region.

Health experts warn that touching the body of someone who died of Ebola can be infected with the virus because body fluids are highly contagious even after death.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's neighboring country, Uganda, has also reported Ebola cases. On Saturday, the health ministry confirmed three new cases - bringing the number of confirmed infections there to five.

On the same day, the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned that 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.