Tensions are running high as officials fight to stop the rapid spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where aid workers tell the ABC they are already playing catch-up with the deadly disease.

The outbreak remains focused in Congo's eastern Ituri province. Congo has reported over 1,000 suspected cases with the Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine.

The World Health Organization's director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that the eastern DRC " faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict", with the…