At least 600 people have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with confirmed cases rising to 1,759, according to government data released on Wednesday.

The figures, as of Tuesday, include 51 new cases and 20 deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours, the health ministry reported.

Two suspected cases in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo province and one of the DRC's largest cities, are not yet included in the official tally pending validation of test results, the government said. One case is linked to the village of Nia-Nia in Ituri province, while the other appears to have no geographic link beyond Kisangani.

As the outbreak worsens, healthcare workers in the hardest-hit Ituri province are walking off the job to protest delayed payments. In an official notice over the weekend, frontline workers threatened to strike if not paid within 24 hours. By Tuesday, some had stopped working, though no official strike has been declared, according to the Associated Press.

Health professionals told AP they have not received wages or bonuses since the outbreak was declared on May 15, and are working with limited gear and facing unfair treatment from authorities.

“Since the Ebola virus disease outbreak was declared, we’ve been demanding payment for our work,” Dr Biensi Kano, a member of the epidemiological surveillance committee in Ituri’s capital Bunia, told AP.

The strike coincides with the start of enrollment for clinical trials to treat the Bundibugyo virus, the strain responsible for this outbreak. While Bundibugyo is generally considered less deadly than other strains, no approved vaccine exists.

By the time the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in May, the virus had been spreading undetected for weeks through mining towns of Mongbwalu, Rwampara and Bunia before reaching neighboring provinces, Al Jazeera reported.

Source: www.aljazeera.com