More health workers strike over no payment as Congo Ebola cases exceed 2K, with 754 deaths
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 frontline workers barricaded the entrance of the hospital, claiming they have not received any compensation despite working under difficult conditions.The World Health Organization says more than 100 healthcare 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.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.Follow The Post’s coverage on the latest Ebola outbreakThe health response is being hampered by a funding gap, attacks on health centers, an ongoing conflict in eastern Co...