Mushmouth
05-23-2018, 05:19 AM
Health workers fighting Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo have run into an invisible but powerful hurdle — a belief system that deems the disease to be a curse or the result of evil spirits.
Some people are refusing medical care and turn instead to preachers and prayers to chase away the threat, they say.
“Some sick people believe that the Ebola epidemic comes from sorcery — they refuse to be treated and prefer to pray,”
One superstition that has become prevalent in the city, she says, is believing that Ebola began in Bikoro as “a curse on those who ate stolen meat”
“a hunter put a curse on the village because his big game was stolen.”
“This curse is so powerful because it hits those who ate this meat, having heard about the theft or having seen the stolen animal,” added Nicole Batoa, a local vendor.
Another resident, Guy Ingila, observed that officials have said on the radio “this disease is incurable... It’s because it’s about witchcraft.”.
To brake the spread of Ebola, “we have to convince villagers that the disease is not a curse,”
:witch
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2018-05-22-superstition-stopping-ebola-victims-from-seeking-medical-care/
Some people are refusing medical care and turn instead to preachers and prayers to chase away the threat, they say.
“Some sick people believe that the Ebola epidemic comes from sorcery — they refuse to be treated and prefer to pray,”
One superstition that has become prevalent in the city, she says, is believing that Ebola began in Bikoro as “a curse on those who ate stolen meat”
“a hunter put a curse on the village because his big game was stolen.”
“This curse is so powerful because it hits those who ate this meat, having heard about the theft or having seen the stolen animal,” added Nicole Batoa, a local vendor.
Another resident, Guy Ingila, observed that officials have said on the radio “this disease is incurable... It’s because it’s about witchcraft.”.
To brake the spread of Ebola, “we have to convince villagers that the disease is not a curse,”
:witch
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2018-05-22-superstition-stopping-ebola-victims-from-seeking-medical-care/