Congo health care strike threatens Ebola response

A nationwide strike by health care workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could threaten Ebola response efforts, after several staff members in towns affected by the disease failed to show up to work on Wednesday, a local official said.

Only essential health services have been operating since Tuesday because of a labour dispute. Given the severity of the situation in the Ebola-affected regions, services there were to continue as normal.

However, Stephen Mapesa, deputy head of the health system in the north-eastern province of Ituri, the epicentre of the outbreak since May, said staff in several hard-hit towns had joined the strike, demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

The Congolese government has recorded 1,708 confirmed Ebola cases since the outbreak began. The Information Ministry said the death toll jumped to 580 within 24 hours, after 74 new deaths were reported.

Ebola is a life-threatening disease spread through contact with infected people or their bodily fluids.

The current outbreak has proven particularly difficult to contain because it is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is neither a vaccine nor a specific course of treatment.

Clinical trials of two antiviral treatments began last week. The trials are sponsored by the World Health Organization.