Ebola death toll in DR Congo passes 500 as health workers threaten strike over unpaid wages

Outbreak surpasses 500 deaths

The 17th Ebola epidemic in DR Congo, declared on May 15, has now killed 506 people out of 1,561 confirmed cases, according to WHO data from July 4. The mortality rate stands at 32.4 percent. Another 628 patients remain in isolation or hospital care, while 253 have recovered. The first month of the outbreak was already the worst on record, the WHO said.

A strain with no vaccine

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which no approved vaccine or specific treatment exists. A clinical trial of two antiviral therapies began on July 2, and the WHO granted emergency use authorization for the first molecular diagnostic test for this strain. The more common Zaire virus, which has a vaccine, was behind most of Congo's previous 16 outbreaks.

Health workers threaten strike

Frontline workers in Ituri province, the epicentre, issued a 24-hour strike notice on July 5, demanding unpaid benefits, better pay, and improved working conditions. They also complained about the "arrogance" of teams sent from Kinshasa and the lack of adequate equipment. Any walkout could disrupt contact tracing and clinical care, officials fear.

Regional spread and high-risk zones

The virus has spread to North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, where armed groups control large areas. In Mongbwalu, the mining town considered the outbreak's starting point, the case fatality rate is 50.7 percent; in North Kivu it reaches 57.4 percent, far above the national average. Uganda has recorded 20 cases and two deaths, with 15 of those cases imported from DR Congo. A French doctor who contracted Ebola in Congo recovered and was discharged from a Paris hospital, while a US doctor treated in Berlin was released in early June.

Historical context

This is already the third deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, behind only the West Africa outbreak of 2014–2016 (about 11,000 deaths, 28,000 cases) and the 2018–2020 epidemic in eastern DR Congo (2,299 deaths, 3,481 cases). The WHO estimates the virus began circulating in Ituri about two months before the official declaration and has classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.