In the Ebola epicenter, a gold-mining town reacts with fear, disbelief and grit

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. In the Ebola epicenter, a gold-mining town reacts with fear, disbelief and grit June 24, 20265:00 AM ET By Emmet Livingstone , Arsène Mpiana Women sift gold-bearing sediment in search of gold at the Maidede mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province on June 16. Arsène Mpiana for NPR hide caption toggle caption Arsène Mpiana for NPR MONGBWALU, Democratic Republic of Congo — Joseph Mute witnessed a string of mysterious deaths in Mongbwalu long before the Congolese government declared an Ebola outbreak. A neighborhood leader in the town, Mute said that the characteristic feature of these deaths was the presence of blood.

"They had blood in the nose, blood in the mouth," he said, standing on an unpaved road in the Shuni neighborhood. A gold-mining town of about 130,000 people located in Ituri province, Mongbwalu is one of the epicenters of eastern Congo's Ebola outbreak. The outbreak is believed to have started here, according to the World Health Organization, but this has yet to be fully confirmed.

The Details

Sponsor Message From Mongbwalu, Ebola likely spread across Ituri, including to its capital, Bunia, a city of more than 1 million. Confirmed cases have also appeared in the Congolese provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, as well as in Uganda, which shares a long border with Ituri. A cemetery in Mongbwalu, in Ituri province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The gold-mining town is one of the hot spots of Congo's Ebola outbreak. Frequent burials have become part of daily life as the virus continues to spread and take lives. Arsène Mpiana for NPR hide caption toggle caption Arsène Mpiana for NPR At first, it wasn't clear what was causing the deaths.

Mongbwalu's population is made up largely of poor gold panners, and diseases are common among this marginalized group. Some, Mute said, suggested that the spreading sickness was tuberculosis, AIDS or even mercury poisoning — from the chemical that miners use to extract gold from ore. Others offered a supernatural explanation, which gained wide belief.

What Experts Say

A woman carrying a funeral cross rides on a motorcycle taxi through Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 18. Funeral processions and other signs of mourning have become increasingly common as eastern Congo battles an Ebola outbreak. Arsène Mpiana for NPR hide caption toggle caption Arsène Mpiana for NPR "Flames of the coffin" In February, mourners traveled from Bunia to Mongbwalu in a car, carrying a coffin that was damaged en route.

Family members of the deceased decided to get a new coffin when they got to Mongbwalu. They burned the old one in the Shuni neighborhood, violating a traditional taboo. Soon after, residents of Shuni began to sicken and die, giving rise to rumors of a cursed coffin.

"People said it was the flames of the coffin spreading through the neighborhood," said Mute, referring to the then-unidentified disease. "But that's not true.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.