Rwampara (DR Congo) (AFP) – Rioters have burnt down hospital tents in a hotspot of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola epidemic, as many Congolese wrestle with fear, anger and confusion over the latest deadly outbreak.

The hastily arranged burials of the victims suspected to have been killed by the viral haemorrhagic fever have been met with suspicion in a conflict-ridden part of the country already distrustful of the state.

With tensions running high, the military has been deployed to provide security for funerals.

Tents used to isolate Ebola patients at Rwampara hospital, in the northeastern Ituri province at the outbreak's epicentre, were torched in the riot on Thursday, which ended swiftly after the army stepped in. Only the tents' charred husks remain.

"It all kicked off when a 24-year-old man, the son of a soldier, died at the hospital," an official at the medical institution said.

"The family wanted us to hand over his body so that they can bury him, but given the circumstances, that's impossible," the official added.

Besides being extremely deadly, Ebola is transmitted through prolonged physical contact and bodily fluids.

There is no vaccine or treatment for the Bundibugyo strain responsible for the 17th Ebola outbreak to hit the vast central African country, which the World Health Organization believes has already killed more than 177 people.

So attempts to tackle the latest spread have been forced to rely mainly on precautions and rapid contact tracing.

But in rural parts of the DRC, "loved ones are throwing themselves at the bodies, touching the corpses and the clothes of the deceased, while organising mourning rituals bringing together loads of people," said Jean Marie Ezadri, a civil society leader in Ituri.

"Unfortunately, this is going on even during this epidemic, which explains the many instances of contamination."

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