Congo health workers demand pay, deaths top 1,800
The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a severe Ebola outbreak that has resulted in over 1,800 deaths, while health workers in the region are staging protests over unpaid wages. Authorities have quarantined passengers on a boat near Kinshasa as a precautionary measure against the virus's spread.
Why it matters
The combination of a rapidly spreading, highly contagious disease and a healthcare worker strike poses a critical threat to public health and regional stability in Central Africa.
BUNIA, Congo -- Congolese health authorities held nearly 200 boat passengers in quarantine near Kinshasa on Thursday after one traveller who was previously aboard the boat died with symptoms matching the Ebola virus. Congo has been battling an Ebola outbreak since May that has been deemed the fastest in history in terms of transmission, with confirmed cases reaching 4,000, including over 1,800 deaths, according to Dr. Jean Kaseya, Director-General of Africa CDC. The passenger had become sick and disembarked nearly three weeks ago in Pimu, in the province of Mongala, more than 1,000 kilometres from Kinshasa along the Congo River, Kaseya said Thursday, adding that the capital has no confirmed Ebola case. The passenger later died. Authorities did not give the current location of the boat other than to say that it was near the capital.
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