A six-year-old child confirmed to have Ebola has been abducted by an armed gang during a raid on a hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo, triggering an international health alert and placing British medical teams on standby.
The attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday at a treatment centre in the eastern city of Goma, a region grappling with a fresh outbreak of the virus. Witnesses said a group of around a dozen gunmen stormed the facility, overpowered security guards, and took the child from an isolation ward. Two nurses were injured in the assault, with one in critical condition.
The World Health Organisation has described the abduction as “deeply alarming” and warned that the child’s removal from medical care poses a grave risk of further transmission. The DRC health ministry confirmed late last night that the child had tested positive for Ebola just days before the raid.
“This is not just a criminal act. It is a direct blow to public health efforts that have already cost hundreds of lives,” said Dr. Jean-Pierre Lokombe, a senior virologist working with the WHO in the region. “Every hour this child remains untreated, the chance of an uncontrollable spread increases.”
British health officials have been put on alert. Public Health England confirmed that it is monitoring the situation closely and that protocols for potential cases arriving in the UK have been reviewed. A spokesperson said: “Our frontline NHS staff are trained to recognise symptoms and respond swiftly. We have contingency plans in place.”
The abduction comes amid a surge in militant activity in North Kivu province, where armed groups have exploited ongoing conflict to attack health facilities. This is the second such raid in a month. In November, a vaccination centre was torched, killing three workers.
The child’s parent, who had been staying at the centre, was reportedly overpowered during the raid and is now in a state of shock. Community leaders have appealed for the child’s safe return, but there has been no communication from the kidnappers.
For the people of Goma, the abduction is a brutal reminder of the intertwined crises of disease and violence that have ravaged the region for decades. Matondo Kalala, a local shopkeeper, said: “We fear for our children. The rebels do not care about sickness or life. They only want to spread fear.”
The international community has been slow to respond. The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC has offered to assist in the search, but no formal rescue operation has been launched. Britain’s Foreign Office has advised against all travel to the affected area and said it is “in contact with local authorities”.
Back in Britain, the news has reignited debates about global health security and the UK’s preparedness for imported diseases. Dr. Hilary Jones, a public health expert at the University of Liverpool, said: “The UK has world-class surveillance, but the reality is that a single undetected case could slip through if we are not vigilant. We need to ensure that our border controls and hospital triage systems are robust.”
For now, the search continues. And as British medics wait for news, there is a palpable sense that this is not just about one child. It is about the thin line between containing a virus and letting it run wild.
The DRC authorities have urged anyone with information to come forward. The child’s name has not been released for safety reasons.
