More than 2,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, with official figures showing 4,381 confirmed cases and 2,011 deaths across five provinces as of Tuesday.
At least 1,000 deaths have occurred during the past three weeks, underscoring the accelerating spread fewer than three months after the outbreak was officially declared on May 15.
Congolese health authorities estimate the current case fatality rate at 45.9 percent.
The outbreak, affecting eastern and northeastern regions of the DRC, is the country’s 17th Ebola surge and the fastest-growing outbreak recorded there.
Aid workers say the virus continues to outpace an expanding response across the five affected provinces.
The World Health Organization said Monday that the virus first surfaced in the country in February, three months before the outbreak was officially declared in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda.
Response efforts have been complicated by strikes involving health workers protesting unpaid wages, as well as misinformation and cultural traditions.
Intimate family burials of some people killed by the virus have also potentially increased the risk of further transmission.
WHO regional director for Africa Mohamed Yakub Janabi said officials are "chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us."
No specific approved vaccine or treatment currently exists for the rare Bundibugyo strain responsible for the outbreak.
WHO vaccine experts have recommended a full-scale human trial of the approved Ervebo vaccine to determine whether it can provide cross-protection against Bundibugyo.
Ervebo has demonstrated safety and efficacy against the Zaire strain, while early data from animal trials indicate it may offer some protection against Bundibugyo.
Two potential Bundibugyo vaccines are also in early human clinical trials, while a third is being developed toward that stage.
WHO has said results from vaccine trials could take months.
Separately, Israel’s Ministry of Health said Tuesday that a citizen who returned from the DRC was being tested for a potential Ebola infection after developing a fever.
The person remains in isolation, with results expected within 24 hours.