This Ebola outbreak has claimed over 2,000 lives. Here’s why it is so hard to contain

An unprecedented Ebola outbreak has claimed over 2,000 lives, with health workers in Congo striking over payment issues. The epidemic, caused by a rare Bundibugyo virus, has proven challenging to contain due to various factors. As of now, there are 4,381 confirmed cases and 2,011 deaths, a death toll that has surged three times faster than the 2014-16 West African Ebola outbreak.

Challenges to contain the virus include strikes by unpaid health workers, rebel group threats, community anger, and misinformation about the validity of Ebola. Health teams face difficulties navigating remote, unpaved roads and shortages of protective gear, while displaced populations struggle to find clean water sources for handwashing.

The outbreak is spreading in five eastern Congo provinces, near borders with South Sudan, Uganda, and Rwanda, raising concerns about potential spread to larger cities. The World Health Organization acknowledged the outbreak began in February, months earlier than the official declaration in mid-May, and experts are still trying to determine its origin.

Health authorities report that 60% to 70% of new cases are recorded outside of monitored contacts, indicating the disease is spreading at an "alarming" rate. Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, the WHO regional director for Africa, stated that health authorities are "chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us."