The Democratic Republic of Congo’s confirmed Ebola cases have risen above 4,000 for the first time in the current outbreak, government data showed, marking a grim milestone in what health officials have described as the fastest-spreading epidemic on record.
According to the latest update from Congo’s public health institute, confirmed cases reached 4,053, with 1,850 deaths recorded. The outbreak, which was officially declared on May 15, has now spread across five provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo.
The epidemic has been described as the fastest spreading on record since it was declared in May. Experts believe infections started circulating months before the outbreak was declared and that the true number of cases could be much higher than the official tally. A report published in the journal Science last month concluded that the outbreak had started in January, or even earlier, in Ituri, with researchers identifying more than 500 suspected cases between mid-January and May 15.
Delayed detection, overwhelmed surveillance, military conflict, and a lack of vaccines and treatments for the species of virus involved have allowed the disease to outrun containment efforts. So far, only West Africa’s 2014-16 outbreak has been bigger, with over 28,000 cases recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
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