A six-year-old Ebola patient has been found safe after being abducted from a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing an end to a harrowing 24-hour ordeal that had sent shockwaves through the global health community. The child, whose name has not been released for privacy reasons, was taken by armed men from a treatment centre in Beni, a city at the epicentre of the country’s ongoing Ebola outbreak. UK aid workers, who have been at the forefront of the fight against the virus, expressed profound relief at the news.
The abduction had threatened to undermine trust in the care system and derail efforts to contain the disease. The child is now under medical observation. The incident underscores the immense dangers faced by healthcare workers in conflict zones and the fragility of progress against epidemic diseases.
