More health workers strike in Congo as Ebola outbreak surpasses 2,000 cases with 754 deaths

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ebola outbreak has surpassed 2,011 confirmed cases and 754 deaths, driven by the rare Bundibugyo virus. The response is severely hindered as healthcare workers at Bunia General Hospital and Rwampara strike over unpaid wages. Tracking is further complicated by unidentified transmission chains, an inability to locate patient zero, and the lack of approved vaccines, though a new clinical trial has launched to test preventive treatments.

Congo Ebola outbreak deaths

• ▪More than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• ▪Confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached 2,011, including 754 deaths, as of July 15, 2026
• ▪The World Health Organization warned on July 14, 2026, that the official Ebola death toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo might be two to four times higher than recorded

Health worker payment strikes

• ▪Healthcare workers at an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara went on strike on July 13, 2026, over unpaid salaries and bonuses
• ▪Health workers at Bunia General Hospital went on strike and barricaded the entrance on July 15, 2026, protesting unpaid wages

Unknown transmission chains

• ▪At least 80% of new Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are emerging from unknown chains of transmission
• ▪Many newly reported Ebola deaths are of individuals who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility

Patient zero unidentified

• ▪Population displacement from armed conflict and mining-related movements has hindered contact tracing efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• ▪Health authorities have yet to identify the patient zero of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Bundibugyo virus treatment limitations

• ▪The current Ebola outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which lacks approved vaccines or treatments
• ▪A clinical trial testing whether an antiviral drug can prevent Bundibugyo virus infection in exposed individuals launched on July 14, 2026