An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has become the country’s deadliest on record, with 2,325 deaths reported from 4,945 confirmed cases, according to government figures released Monday.
The outbreak has surpassed the 2018-2020 Ebola epidemic, which killed 2,299 people from 3,381 confirmed cases in the country.
The United Nations has described the current outbreak as the “fastest-growing on record”, reporting that it is claiming one life approximately every 30 minutes in the DRC.
The outbreak began in the conflict-affected northeastern province of Ituri and has since spread to five other provinces in the central African nation, which has a population of more than 100 million.
The outbreak was officially declared on May 15, although health authorities believe the virus had been spreading for several weeks before the declaration.
It is the DRC’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that it hoped to contain the spread of the virus in the country within three months.
Ebola is a severe viral disease that spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause haemorrhagic fever.
More than 15,000 people have died from Ebola outbreaks in Africa over the past five decades.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak recorded globally occurred in West Africa between 2013 and 2016, killing more than 11,300 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
