Congo's Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people, according to Health Ministry figures released Thursday. The ministry recorded 4,018 deaths among 8,300 cases since the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15, making it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The World Health Organization warns it could soon surpass the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed 11,000 people.
Containment efforts have been set back by violence and labor disputes. A senior UN official said soldiers looking for weapons burned an Ebola-hit displacement camp on the outskirts of Bunia, forcing 19,000 residents to flee and destroying a transit center for infected patients. Health workers in Ituri Province also protested over unpaid wages for August and September, with some saying they would stop collecting data until they were paid. At least 50 health workers have died from the virus, and an MSF aid worker was evacuated to the Netherlands for treatment.
Mobile laboratories have helped speed up detection, reducing test turnaround from 72 hours to six hours and allowing teams to move equipment to remote areas. But insecurity and community resistance remain major obstacles. Confirmed cases have fallen from a weekly peak of about 850 in mid-July to an average of 490 in September, yet spread has accelerated in some new zones, and residents in several hot spots dismiss Ebola as a hoax. A Congolese politician was beaten to death this week after defending government containment measures.