Published On 15 Jul 2026
The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo outbreak has reached 2,011, including 754 deaths, as healthcare workers in the epicentre of the outbreak start a strike over unpaid wages and inadequate working conditions
Healthcare workers began a strike at Bunia General Hospital in the northeastern Ituri province on Wednesday, obstructing the entrance to the hospital. They said they have not received any compensation for their work since the outbreak began, despite working under extremely difficult conditions
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- list 1 of 3On the front line of Congo’s Ebola outbreak
- list 2 of 3Staff at DR Congo Ebola centre strike as virus continues spreading
- list 3 of 3WHO warns DR Congo Ebola outbreak may be double the official tally
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The protests in Bunia come after other strikes in the region, which is the epicentre of the outbreak. Dozens of healthcare workers, including epidemiologists and grave diggers at the Rwampara General Hospital, walked off their jobs on Monday claiming they hadn’t been paid for months
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) says this current outbreak is the third largest and fastest growing Ebola outbreak on record
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the official death toll might be two to four times higher than the officially recorded numbers
The current Ebola outbreak started on May 15 and has been caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or treatment
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the first clinical trial to test whether an antiviral drug can prevent infection in those exposed to the Bundibugyo virus launched on Tuesday
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“If effective among high-risk contacts after exposure, this could mark a major step forward in Ebola BVD prevention,” Tedros wrote on social media
