More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo exceed 2,000, including 754 deaths

Health More health workers strike as Ebola cases in Congo exceed 2,000, including 754 deaths Workers at the region’s largest medical center are the latest group to claim payment issues Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Associated PressJuly 15, 2026 BUNIA, Congo — The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo has reached 2,011, including 754 deaths, according to government data released overnight in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record. Health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest medical center, went on strike on Wednesday and are the latest group to have walked off their job at the epicenter over payment issues. Health professionals and other front line workers barricaded the entrance of the hospital, claiming they have not received any compensation despite working under difficult conditions.Advertisement The World Health Organization says more than 100 health care workers have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak. The Central African nation has been battling the Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus since May 15. A total of 753 patients remain in isolation or in hospitals, while 366 have so far recovered, according to data from Congo’s Ministry of Health. Contact tracing remains a challenge, with coverage of those exposed still at 67%. The outbreak continues to spread faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response. At least 80% of new cases are emerging from unknown chains of transmission, the WHO said Tuesday.Advertisement A key challenge is that health authorities have yet to identify the outbreak’s patient zero, while displacements from armed conflict as well as mining-related movements have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals. Many of the newly reported deaths are those who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the WHO health emergencies chief, said Tuesday after returning from Bunia in Ituri, the worst-hit province in the outbreak. The health response is being hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, and mistrust among local communities. Dozens of health care workers at an Ebola virus treatment center in Rwampara, another hard hit city in the Ituri province, went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses on Monday. On Tuesday, they agreed to resume work under the condition that the government pays them within 72 hours. Some have told The Associated Press they have not received any payment since they started work at the onset of the outbreak. Response efforts have also been challenged by the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo virus, unlike the more common Zaire virus for which there is a vaccine and which was responsible for most of Congo’s past 16 outbreaks of the disease. Enrollment for a highly anticipated study of two possible Ebola treatments recently started in Ituri. global health, infectious disease, public health Submit a correction requestReprints Associated Press Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day Recommended Pharmalot July 15, 2026 STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about a Biogen Alzheimer’s drug, skyrocketing 340B drug sales, and more Morning Rounds July 15, 2026 What to know about the parasitic diarrhea outbreak Advertisement Exclusive July 15, 2026 STAT Plus: Medicare Advantage insurers face new bipartisan scrutiny over AI and care denials Politics July 15, 2026 Flood of comments on White House grantmaking overhaul is largely negative, analysis shows Health tech July 15, 2026 STAT Plus: Swing Therapeutics acquired by medical VR platform XR Health Subscriber Picks