AT LEAST a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers have been recorded during Congo’s Ebola outbreak as safety fears restrict the response in the worst-affected region, authorities said on Saturday.

Many health workers and other front-line workers in Ituri province have also gone on strike over unpaid salaries, further complicating response efforts in what has been declared the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record.

So far, 2,181 cases have been recorded, including 864 deaths caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Many of the attacks have been carried out by angry mobs who have stormed treatment centres or targeted response teams in the field.

Dr Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response, said: “Members of the various response teams have been held captive in some health zones.

“Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened and continue to be threatened in some cemeteries and within several communities.”

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters last Thursday that humanitarian actors are “deeply concerned by escalating violence” impacting the Ebola response and that access to treatment centres and surrounding communities remains constrained.

“The worsening security situation has forced several humanitarian partners involved in the Ebola response to temporarily relocate staff to Bunia which is relatively safer.”