Protesting Ebola health workers in the DR Congo alleged that they haven’t been paid for their work, putting efforts to contain the virus spread further at risk.
African health authorities have warned that the latest outbreak is the “fastest-growing” ever; medics in DR Congo were already facing almost impossible working conditions given the lack of medical supplies — a shortfall caused in part by sudden Western aid cuts — as well as the spread of misinformation.
Reported cases in areas controlled by armed militias have raised fears that the disease could expand beyond authorities’ reach. “We have to plan actively around an explosion of cases,” a health expert working in militia-held territory told The New York Times. The World Health Organization said the outbreak has now killed more than 600 people — just days after the figure topped 500 — along with more than 1,700 cases. Twenty cases have also been recorded in neighboring Uganda, along with two deaths.