WHO Chief Says Ebola Outbreak in Congo Outpacing Response as Health Workers Strike

On Wednesday, in Kinshasa, the head of the World Health Organization sat down with Congolese officials and then told the public what he had heard: the Ebola outbreak is moving faster than the effort to contain it. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted the assessment on X. It was his second trip to Congo since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

The numbers behind his warning are stark. As of Monday, Congo's Ministry of Health counted 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths. Nearly three months in, Tedros said, new cases are doubling in some hot spots. The outbreak is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak the world has seen and the second-largest on record, behind the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa, which produced more than 28,000 cases and over 11,000 deaths.

The disease is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine. Local officials believe it began in a remote area long before it was declared. Late detection, officials say, is a key reason for a fatality rate of 45%. Of the 77 most recent cases reported in a 24-hour period, 44 were fatal. At least 717 patients are in isolation, and 749 have recovered.

The tracking system meant to catch the virus is failing. Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control, said during a Tuesday visit to Bunia that contact tracing is not working: at least 60% to 70% of new cases come from outside the groups already being monitored after exposure to patients. He met Tedros on Wednesday and said Africa CDC is aligning its work with other responders around earlier detection, stronger contact tracing, rapid access to quality care and deeper engagement with communities.

In Ituri province, the epicenter, the problem is compounded by a strike. Families there say many front line health workers have stopped working over a lack of pay, which has worsened access to care in a remote part of eastern Congo near the borders of South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda, where rebel conflict was already straining services. Some workers say they began receiving payment in the past week for work done since the outbreak began, but they are demanding better wages.

For Anicet Baluku, a resident of Bunia, the capital of Ituri, the strike has a personal cost. He blames it for the deaths of his two brothers from Ebola. He told The Associated Press: "We urge the authorities to quickly find a solution to prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy."

Money is arriving. The U.S. Department of State said Wednesday it will provide another $242 million for immediate Ebola response and preparedness in the region, along with humanitarian assistance tied to the outbreak. That brings U.S. direct assistance above $512 million. Doctors Without Borders, meanwhile, said the outbreak is still spreading at an "alarming and unprecedented rate," and that the response, though expanding, is not reaching communities quickly enough to break transmission chains.

Tedros called for a massive scale-up across every part of the response and by every partner, for action to reach all affected localities, stronger coordination under the government's leadership, and protection for health workers. He said communities must be at the center of the response, adding that Ebola cannot be stopped without their trust, leadership and partnership. What to watch next is whether the new funding and wage payments reach front line workers fast enough to restore tracing and care in Ituri.