Six-year-old Ebola patient taken from DR Congo hospital found and 'doing well'

Six-year-old Ebola patient taken from DR Congo hospital found and 'doing well' 7 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Emery Makumeno BBC Africa, Kinshasa Reuters Ebola is spread by contact with bodily fluids A six-year-old Ebola patient, who Congolese authorities were searching for after armed men stormed the hospital where she was being treated, has been found and is "doing well", a local health official has told the BBC. On Wednesday, Dr Lubambo Maboko Gaston said that a girl and her mother had been taken by "very angry" men from a hospital in the eastern city of Butembo, two days previously. It is unclear whether the men were known to the child, but suspicion and fear surrounding Ebola treatment centres have been rife during the current outbreak. On Friday, Gaston said the child and mother had turned up at an Ebola treatment centre roughly 18km (11 miles) from Butembo. "Her condition is currently considered stable," Dr Gaston said of the child. Ebola treatment facilities have come under attack multiple times during the ongoing outbreak, in which more than 230 deaths and 890 cases have been confirmed. What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult? 'I buried my parents one day after the other' - Ebola mourners learn how to grieve safely Recovery of Ebola patients offers rare moments of joy at epicentre of outbreak Last month, police in the town of Mongbwalu fired shots in the air after angry crowds attempted to reclaim the bodies of loved ones who had died at a health facility. Days before, crowds set fire to isolation tents in hospital in Rwampara - a town 85km (53 miles) south-east of Mongbwalu - after they were prevented from taking the body of a man thought to have died from Ebola. The body of an Ebola victim is highly infectious and can lead to the virus spreading further when prepared for burial. Ensuring that burials are carried out safely is a key concern for health official trying to tackle the outbreak. "People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders - it does not exist," local politician Luc Malembe told the BBC last month. "They believe it is the NGOs and hospitals creating this to make money, and this is tragic." The Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo was declared on May 15, though transmission had been going undetected for some time. The surge in cases has been caused by a rare species of Ebola known as Bundibugyo. There is currently no vaccine for this species and the World Health Organisation has said it could take months for a jab to be ready. Anadolu via Getty Images Ebola treatment centres have come under attack several times during the ongoing outbreak The current Ebola outbreak has the potential to be one of the largest ever, the head of Africa's Centres for Disease ​Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Tuesday, echoing a similar projection made earlier this