Global health officials are concerned political instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo could worsen the country's ongoing Ebola outbreak, according to Reuters.
Congo's Dec. 30 election was supposed to be the country's first uncontested democratic transfer of power in nearly two decades, according to the report. However, opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi was named the winner, stirring up accusations of fraud and demands for a recount.
This lack of public trust could hinder health workers' efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, which is the country's second worst in history.
"When you have political instability, public health always suffers," Jeremy Farrar, PhD, an infectious disease expert who recently visited the Congo, told Reuters. "The worst case scenario is that political instability remains, mistrust grows ... and then there's nothing to stop the epidemic getting embedded into a big urban center and taking off as it did in West Africa."
As of Jan. 12, the World Health Organization reported 644 confirmed and probable Ebola cases linked to the outbreak, along with 392 confirmed and probable deaths.