The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the deadliest in the country's history, with at least 2,325 deaths reported, surpassing the toll of the 2018-2020 epidemic, according to government figures released on Sunday.
The Congolese Public Health Institute reported that confirmed infections have risen to 4,945, including 101 new cases detected in the previous 24 hours.
The West African Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016 recorded 28,616 infections and 11,310 deaths across Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
On Friday, the United Nations warned that "Ebola is winning in DR Congo," noting that the disease is now claiming a life every 30 minutes.
Six of the country's 26 provinces are currently affected, mainly those along its northeastern border. More than 3,400 infections have been recorded in Ituri province, where the outbreak was first reported.
The latest infection numbers make this outbreak the fastest-spreading in the known history of the virus.
No vaccine or treatment has yet been approved for the rare Bundibugyo strain, which is responsible for the current surge in cases.
Thomas Parisch, a public health expert deployed to DR Congo with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said: "Normally, as an outbreak progresses, the fatality rate decreases as contact tracing improves and patients are detected and treated earlier."
"Instead, we are still seeing many cases detected very late, when treatment is less likely to succeed, with many cases only identified after the person has died in the community."
Uganda has reported at least 20 cases, all in the capital, Kampala.
In May, the outbreaks in DR Congo and Uganda were declared by the WHO as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
The virus is transmitted to humans from wild animals and then spreads in communities through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected people, as well as through contaminated surfaces or materials such as bedding, sheets, or clothing.
According to WHO, symptoms may include fever, fatigue, malaise, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rash, and signs of kidney and liver dysfunction.
