Congo fighting raises risk of virus leaks

KINSASHA, DRC | TASS | Fighting, looting and power outages currently taking place in the Congolese city of Goma have raised a risk of dangerous viruses, including Ebola, leaking from a local lab, said Patrick Youssef, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“We are very concerned about the situation in the laboratory of the national biomedical research institute, which is facing a risk of power cuts,” he said Reuters reported.

If the samples it contains were to spread, it could lead to “unimaginable consequences, he said.

The samples are of various viruses including Ebola, he said.

Rebels from the March 23 Movement, supported by Rwandan forces, entered Goma, a city in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on January 26. They are now engaging the Congolese armed forces in several neighborhoods of the city. The fighting has set off looting, and such services as water and power supply, along with mobile connection, have been disrupted.