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The world’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak is now spreading at a rate that outpaces efforts to contain it, the head of the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday during a visit to Congo, where some health workers are striking over unpaid wages.

Nearly three months since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, new cases are doubling in some hotspots, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in a post on X after meeting with officials in the capital, Kinshasa. This marked his second visit to the Central African nation since the crisis began.

“We all agree that we must urgently and massively scale up all our efforts across all pillars of the response and by all partners,” Tedros urged.

As of Monday, the outbreak has led to 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths, according to the latest data from Congo’s Ministry of Health.

In Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, families report that many frontline workers have gone on strike, exacerbating an already challenging healthcare access situation.

This region, one of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable areas near the borders of South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda, is also grappling with rebel conflict.

While some workers have recently begun receiving payments for their work since the outbreak started, they are demanding improved wages.

Anicet Baluku, a resident of Bunia, Ituri’s capital, attributed the deaths of his two brothers from Ebola to the strike.

(Reuters)

“We urge the authorities to quickly find a solution to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy,” he told The Associated Press.

The U.S. Department of State announced on Wednesday an additional $242 million in funding for immediate Ebola response and preparedness efforts in the region, as well as for humanitarian assistance related to the outbreak.

This new commitment brings total direct assistance to over $512 million.

This outbreak has surpassed all previous Ebola outbreaks in its speed of transmission and stands as the second-largest on record, trailing only the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which saw more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus, responsible for the current crisis, has no approved treatment or vaccine, and local officials believe it originated in a remote area long before its official declaration on May 15.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders stated on Wednesday that the outbreak is still “spreading at an alarming and unprecedented rate,” adding: “The response is expanding but is still not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains.”

(Reuters)

Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, noted on Tuesday during a visit to Bunia that contact tracing efforts are failing, with at least 60 to 70 percent of new cases emerging from individuals not being monitored after exposure. Officials attribute the 45 percent fatality rate largely to late case detection.

Of the 77 most recent cases reported in 24 hours, 44 were fatal, according to the health ministry. Currently, 717 patients are in isolation, while 749 have recovered.

Kaseya, who met with Tedros on Wednesday, confirmed that Africa CDC is aligning its efforts with responders “around earlier detection, stronger contact tracing, rapid access to quality care and deeper engagement with communities.”

Tedros called for urgent action to reach all affected localities, strengthen coordination under the government’s leadership, and protect health workers. “Above all, communities must be at the center of and have ownership of the response,” he emphasized. “We cannot stop Ebola without their trust, leadership and partnership.”