MONGBWALU, Congo -- Dr. Richard Lokudu, medical director at Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, has seen almost no payment for his efforts battling one of Congo's most severe Ebola outbreaks.

Lokudu and his team spend long hours at the facility managing a surge of patients. Alerts about possible infections arrive even after dark.

"I have not received my allowance (and) what happened to others could happen to me as well," Lokudu told The Associated Press. "Despite all the infection prevention and control measures we are implementing, we do not know what may happen."

Health officials trace the outbreak, which caught eastern Congo off guard after spreading undetected for weeks, to the busy mining zone of Mongbwalu in Ituri province.

Mongbwalu now stands as the center of the uncommon Bundibugyo strain. The area draws many workers to gold mines featuring muddy deposits, tight shafts and caves. Residents stay in crowded, low-income settlements with limited health resources.

These factors raise risks of spread, as the virus passes via direct contact with fluids from the ill or deceased including sweat, blood, feces and vomit.

Widespread doubt about the illness complicates care for Lokudu and staff, and several responders have succumbed to it.

"It is one thing to be far away and hear statistics being reported, but what is happening on the ground is enormous," Lokudu said. "People are sacrificing their rest and comfort for this cause. There should be recognition that they deserve compensation. These workers should receive their salaries regularly."

The Congolese government offered no reply to an AP request for comment.

Officials issued updated figures on Sunday, reporting 488 confirmed cases and 86 deaths through Friday. On Thursday the nation logged 71 fresh cases in one day, viewed as evidence of ongoing community spread.

Neighboring Uganda has recorded 19 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Bundibugyo lacks approved vaccines or therapies, so workers focus on easing symptoms. Authorities note at least five recoveries since the outbreak was declared on May 15.

The disease "had a big head start," said World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Regional hospitals lacked tests for this Ebola type that circulated weeks earlier.

Staff manage with scarce supplies as aid groups rush materials to the area. Masks, gloves, boots and medicines started in short supply.

"There has been an erosion of the health system," said Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo. "There has not been investment in the health system, and this has been going on for years."

"During the first week, we did not even have time to go home and eat. The second week was the same. We only eat once a day, what amounts to breakfast in the evening," said Alice Bamuhinga, a nurse at the Mongbwalu hospital.

Despite initial skepticism and resistance to protocols, awareness of the outbreak's seriousness is growing in the town.

Asero Jeanne, 52, lost two of her five children to the disease within two weeks. When her daughter fell ill the family suspected malaria, and neighbors urged them to skip the hospital, claiming "anyone who went there would die immediately," Jeanne said.

The daughter passed after three weeks of shuttling between facilities and home; a son followed days later. Jeanne then became ill herself.

"I saw about 20 people die," Jeanne said. "I watched them being taken to the morgue, yet God is allowing me to leave here alive. I thank the doctors."

Tedros on Friday unveiled a $518 million response plan, noting "containing Ebola depends on political commitment, sustained financing, and the trust and engagement of communities."

Control efforts face added strain from clashes involving the government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels plus strikes by Islamist militants.

For those on the front lines the workload grows heavier as cases outpace response capacity.

"Despite the alerts we receive and the teams we have on site, we lack the means to travel into the field," Lokudu said. "As a result, there are alerts we are unable to investigate."