Confirmed Ebola deaths in DR Congo hit 600

The number of deaths comes as healthcare workers threaten to walk off the job over a delay in payments.At least 600 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have died from Ebola, as the number of confirmed cases of the illness rose to 1,759, according to government data.The total numbers, released on Wednesday, were confirmed as of Tuesday, while 51 new cases and 20 deaths were recorded in the previous 24 hours.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Q&A: Why humanitarian aid is crucial to stopping the Ebola outbreaklist 2 of 3UN warns Ebola could cost Africa $3.6bn and jobslist 3 of 3On the front line of Congo’s Ebola outbreakend of listThe total of those infected does not include two cases of illness reported in Kisangani, the capital of the Tshopo province and one of the DRC’s biggest cities, as the test results were being validated, the government’s report said. They will be included in the official case total once confirmed.One of those two cases is linked to the village of Nia-Nia in the Ituri province, where the first illnesses were reported. But the second illness “does not appear to have a geographic link” beyond Kisangani, according to the government.As the situation worsens, healthcare workers in the Ituri province, the hardest-hit of the country’s three eastern regions affected by the outbreak, are walking off their jobs to protest against delay in payments.In an official notice to national and provincial authorities over the weekend, front-line workers in Ituri threatened to strike if they were not paid in 24 hours. By Tuesday, some had already stopped working, although no official strike has been declared, The Associated Press news agency reported.Some of the health professionals and other front-line workers told AP they had not been paid wages or bonuses since the Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15. They also said they were working with limited gear and treated unfairly by authorities and response teams.