India, July 26 -- Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in eastern Congo went on strike Saturday over payment issues, disrupting care for patients in the epicenter 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 Friday in what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak on record.

Activities at the Elikya Ebola Treatment Center in Bunia, Ituri province, were largely paralysed after doctors, nurses and security staff stopped work.

About a hundred health workers protested outside the treatment centre on Saturday. They said the unpaid bonuses were undermining morale and disrupting patient care, and called o...