Nurse killed in attack on Ebola responders in eastern Congo, WHO says

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the attack happened on Saturday in the town of Bafwasende in eastern Tshopo province, AP and Al Jazeera reported. Julien Harneis, the UN's senior Ebola response coordinator, said in a statement that the nurse was killed by protesters, citing preliminary reports from provincial health officials, and called for a thorough investigation.

Authorities say attacks on health workers and responders are hampering efforts to slow the outbreak, which AP described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in the world. Local authorities had not commented on the suspects, Al Jazeera reported.

Why it matters: Containing Ebola depends on response teams being able to reach patients and their contacts, and UN and WHO officials have warned that fear and misinformation are fueling violence against them.