ArticlePathogens and global health2019
'The cat that kills people:' community beliefs about Ebola origins and implications for disease control in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Article in Pathogens and global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Misconceptions and Rumors about Ebola Virus Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Public and health professional epidemic risk perceptions in countries that are highly vulnerable to epidemics: a systematic review.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2022Pooled it
- Poor preparedness of congolese healthcare workers for Ebola during the 10th outbreak (2018-2020).Industrial health · 2026Article
- Occupational Infection Prevention Among Nurses and Laboratory Technicians Amidst Multiple Health Emergencies in Outbreak-Prone Country, D.R. Congo.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2026Article
- Strategies Utilized During Sudan Virus Disease Outbreak Response in Kampala City, Uganda, 2022 - 2023.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Article
- Barriers to community engagement during the response to an Ebola virus disease outbreak in Uganda.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- The Role of Community Beliefs and Practices on the Spread of Ebola in Uganda, September 2022.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2024Article
- "If I die for touching him, let me die": a rapid ethnographic assessment of cultural practices and Ebola transmission in high-risk border regions of Tanzania.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Retrospective Comparison of Nigeria's Emergency Response Between the 2014 Ebola Outbreak and 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.Cureus · 2023Review
- Burial workers' perceptions of community resistance and support systems during an Ebola outbreak in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: a qualitative study.Conflict and health · 2023Article
- Understanding misinformation infodemic during public health emergencies due to large-scale disease outbreaks: a rapid review.Zeitschrift fur Gesundheitswissenschaften = Journal of public health · 2023Review
- Perceptions of ebola virus disease among the bambuti hunter group: a mixed-methods study.Pathogens and global health · 2022Article
- Risk perceptions and behaviors of actors in the wild animal value chain in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.PloS one · 2022Article
- Responding to the 2018-2020 Ebola Virus Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Rethinking Humanitarian Approaches.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2021Review
- Prevention of COVID-19 in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in War-Torn North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Mixed-Methods Study.Global health, science and practice · 2020Article
- Ebola crisis in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: student-led community engagement.Pathogens and global health · 2020Article
- Ebola virus disease.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2020Review
- Contextual, Social and Epidemiological Characteristics of the Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Likati Health Zone, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2017.Frontiers in public health · 2020Article
- Local perspectives on Ebola during its tenth outbreak in DR Congo: A nationwide qualitative study.PloS one · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current Ebola epidemic in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has surpassed 1 700 deaths. Social resistance, a major barrier to control efforts, invites exploration of community beliefs around Ebola and its origins. We conducted a mixed-methods study, using four focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 20 participants, and a 19-item survey questionnaire, administered to a nonprobability sample of 286 community members throughout the outbreak zone. FGDs and surveys were conducted between 4 and 17 August 2018. FGDs revealed a widespread rumor early in the epidemic of two twins bewitched by their aunt after eating her cat, who developed bleeding symptoms and triggered the epidemic. However, this myth appeared to dissipate as the epidemic progressed and biomedical transmission became generally accepted. In our survey, 6% of respondents endorsed supernatural origins of Ebola. These respondents were more likely to believe that traditional medicine practitioners can cure Ebola. Wild animals were recognized as sources of Ebola by 53% and FGD participants commented that 'Ebola leaves the forest and hides in the hospital,' recognizing that zoonotic origins gave way to nosocomial transmission as the epidemic progressed. Taken together, our findings suggest that a dynamic syncretism of mythical and biomedical understanding of Ebola may have shaped transmission patterns. Mythical conceptions and fear of contagion may have fueled the 'underground' transmission of Ebola, as patients sought care from traditional healers, who are ill-equipped to deal with a highly contagious biohazard. A deeper understanding of beliefs around Ebola origins may illuminate strategies to engage communities in control efforts.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.