The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record has crossed 2,000 confirmed cases. Health workers in Bunia are on strike — unpaid since the outbreak was declared in May. Over 100 healthcare workers have been infected.
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Infectious Diseases in Focus →As of July 15–16, 2026, the Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has crossed 2,000 confirmed cases — reaching 2,011 cases and 754 deaths, according to government data released on July 15. Authorities describe it as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.
And in the epicenter of that outbreak, in Ituri Province in northeastern DRC, the health workers fighting it are going on strike.
Health workers at Bunia General Hospital — the largest medical center in the region and the primary facility for Ebola response in Ituri Province — went on strike on Wednesday, July 15. They barricaded the hospital entrance, demanding payment for work they have been doing since the outbreak was declared on May 15, 2026.
The Bunia General Hospital strike is the latest in a series of work stoppages that have repeatedly disrupted the response since July began. On Monday, July 13, dozens of healthcare workers at the Rwampara Ebola treatment center — another hard-hit location in Ituri Province — went on strike over unpaid salaries and bonuses. They agreed to resume work on Tuesday only after the government committed to pay them within 72 hours.
| Metric | Figure | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmed cases | 2,011 | Fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record |
| Deaths | 754 | Many died in communities without reaching health facilities |
| Health workers infected | 100+ | Since outbreak declared May 15 |
| New infections from unknown chains | 80% | Patient zero still unidentified |
| Contacts traced | 67% | DRC Health Ministry — 33% still untraced |
| WHO funding received | ~40% | Of needed amount |
The WHO's health emergencies chief, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, returned from Bunia on July 14 and confirmed that many of the newly reported deaths are of people who died in their communities without ever reaching a health facility and without receiving care. This reflects both the geographic spread of the outbreak beyond Bunia into more remote areas and the impact of community mistrust — a persistent obstacle that has included attacks on health facilities and the burning of an Ebola treatment center earlier in the outbreak.
The unpaid health workers are a symptom of a larger funding crisis. The WHO has received approximately 40% of the funding needed for a full response. Africa CDC called for $18 million to fund the research program — that gap has not been closed. Logistics have been further complicated by the closure of Bunia airport, which has hampered funding delivery and response implementation.
The response is operating in a context of active armed conflict between the Alliance Fleuve Congo/M23 movement and the Congolese Army, ongoing population displacement, and the mistrust that has made community engagement extraordinarily difficult throughout this outbreak.
The 2026 Ebola outbreak is not failing because the science is inadequate or the response workers are uncommitted. It is failing — or at risk of failing — because the system that is supposed to support those workers has not delivered what they were promised.
Health workers who accept the risk of Ebola infection — who put on PPE every day, who care for patients with a disease that kills more than a third of those it infects, who conduct contact tracing in conflict zones — cannot be treated as optional. They cannot be asked to absorb that risk without the basic dignity of receiving the wages they were promised.
The outbreak will not be contained without them. And they cannot work without being paid.