Ebola responders in DRC have been attacked due to misinformation and false claims about the disease (Picture: AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

A politician is said to have been beaten to death after speaking about the Ebola outbreak on the radio.

Marie-Celestin Karondwa,the acting president of the UDPS party in the Democratic Republic of Congo,was reportedly attacked in his neighbourhood after the radio show.

The politician had promoted disease prevention measures to tackle the spread of Ebola shortly before being attacked,his party said.

Karondwa was based in Butembo,northeastern DRC,which has recently become a hotspot for the deadly disease during an outbreak that has killed almost 4,000 people across the country.

According to the UDPS party,he was beaten and had his belongings stolen before his house was set on fire,Reuters reports.

The most recent outbreak was declared on May 15.

Since then,Ebola cases linked to the latest Bundibugyo strain have surged to more than 8,000 in the DRC,according to the latest government figures.

The country’s public health body has recorded 8,067 cases and 3,901 deaths,giving the outbreak a fatality rate of 48.4%.

Vaccines against Bundibugyo are being trialled,but there is currently no approved treatment.

And while cases appear to be plateauing,the outbreak is by no means under control,officials have warned.

What is Ebola?

The disease,caused by the Ebola virus,sometimes known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever,is a rare but severe and often fatal illness that can affect humans and primates.It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.The average fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.Ebola spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact such as through broken skin or mucous membranes.A person infected with Ebola cannot spread it until they develop symptoms.US President Donald Trump asked about the Ebola outbreak during a White House press conference.Angolan correspondent Hariana Verás was quizzing Trump about his thoughts on the conflict between DRC and its neighbour Rwanda when he abruptly asked: ‘How is Ebola going?’Verás,who had recently travelled to Congo,said that while the disease is ‘under control’,according to the WHO director,‘the country still needs some help fighting Ebola.’DRC has also been ravaged by internal conflict and displacement of people escaping fighting,and a protracted conflict with Rwanda.Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at .For more stories like this,check our news page.