HEALTH workers at an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo went on strike on Saturday, demanding owed pay.

The walkout disrupted care for patients at the epicentre of the country’s rapidly growing outbreak.

The number of confirmed cases of Ebola in Congo has reached 2,973, including 1,309 deaths, according to government data released on Friday, in what authorities say has been the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

The Elikya Ebola Treatment Centre in Bunia, Ituri province, came to a standstill after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.

About 100 health workers protested outside the treatment centre on Saturday.

The workers said unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care and called on Congolese authorities to resolve the back pay issue, so they could resume their work.

“We need to be paid, because in the meantime the disease is spreading at the treatment centre,” Martin Bolombi, one of the health workers on strike said.

“I’ve already had five people die who are still inside there. A solution must be found for us,” he added.

In a statement issued on Friday, staff said they had unanimously voted to strike until “concrete solutions” were found to resolve “two months of unpaid performance bonuses.”

Dr Adelard Lufungula, operations manager for the Ebola response, said Saturday the payment issue is “being resolved,” with workers now paid via mobile money instead of cash, and that the backlog “should be cleared” in the coming days.

Health workers at Bunia General Hospital, the region’s largest medical centre, went on strike Last week over unpaid salaries. Some told reporters they had not received any payment since the outbreak of the rare Bunibugyo virus in mid-May.

This comes as the World Health Organisation says more than 100 healthcare workers have been infected since the outbreak of the virus.