The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) has risen above 500, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), as health workers threaten strike action over low wages and poor working conditions.

Data released on Monday, based on reports from Congolese health authorities, showed at least 506 deaths and 1,561 confirmed Ebola cases in the country, per a WHO situation report dated July 4. In neighboring Uganda, the toll remained at two deaths and 20 confirmed cases.

Ebola, transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causing hemorrhagic fever, has killed over 15,000 people in Africa in the past 50 years. The deadliest outbreak in DR Congo resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 recorded cases between 2018 and 2020.

The 17th epidemic in DR Congo, officially declared on May 15, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is neither a vaccine nor a treatment. A clinical trial involving two treatments for this rare strain began on Thursday, according to the WHO, which also granted emergency use authorization for the first molecular diagnostic test for the virus.

Officials have yet to identify the outbreak's patient zero and still need to trace possibly tens of thousands of people who have come in contact with infected individuals. The first month of this Ebola outbreak was already the worst on record, the WHO has said.

In the mining town of Mongbwalu in Ituri province, considered the starting point of the epidemic, the high lethality of 50.7 percent suggests persistent challenges in early management and access to care. The crisis has been further compounded by front-line health workers threatening to go on strike over unpaid benefits and poor working conditions.

In a notice to the government, workers both in and outside hospitals said they had not been paid benefits since the outbreak began and lack adequate supplies. They also complained of poor salaries, the “arrogance” of teams sent from Kinshasa, and the “excessive” use of labor from other provinces without prioritizing local workers in Ituri, as well as lack of adequate equipment.

The virus is also present in provinces near North Kivu and South Kivu, where large areas are controlled by the anti-government armed group M23. In North Kivu, the mortality rate of 57.4 percent is considered “worrying” by Congolese health authorities. In South Kivu, no cases have been confirmed since May 26.

Source: www.aljazeera.com