A village chief in Congo works to overcome Ebola prejudice even as the disease kills his relatives

BENI, Congo -- After each of his relatives got Ebola and became sick, Alphonse bin Kitobi Achou Taibo would scramble to get them to the nearest hospital in eastern Congo, but they accused him of taking them there to die and refused to go.The chief of Bapakombe-Bakondo was in despair. His village lies on the outskirts of the city of Beni in North Kivu province, a major hot spot in what has been the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak.“I quickly realized: We are now in danger of losing the whole family,” Achou Taibo, who ultimately lost four family members to Ebola, told The Associated Press. Eleven other members of his extended family also contracted Ebola but survived after he took them to the hospital.The biggest enemy he was facing, Achou Taibo said, was the prevailing mistrust in this part of the country, where many compare Ebola to poison and some local pastors even associate it with evil spirits. That prejudice has hampered efforts to persuade people to report symptoms and accept care in communities that have endured years of violence and repeated outbreaks.The outbreak in eastern Congo, declared in May, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus for which there is no approved vaccine ...