DAILY MAIL
Bitter fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo has sparked fears that highly dangerous Ebola viruses could be released from a laboratory in a city stormed by Rwandan-backed rebels.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned of ‘unimaginable consequences’ if samples of Ebola and other pathogens held at a lab in Goma were allowed to escape and spread amid the crisis.
The humanitarian organisation’s regional director Patrick Youssef said the ICRC is ‘very concerned about the situation in the laboratory of the national biomedical research institute, which is facing a risk of power cuts, as well as a question of preserving the samples that may be affected by the clashes.’
Aid agencies have also warned that attacks on water and electricity infrastructure could fuel the spread of deadly infectious diseases like cholera, with the clashes triggering a spiralling humanitarian crisis.
Connect with us on our socials: