The death toll from the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 4,018, with 8,300 confirmed cases recorded across seven provinces.
The latest figures, released by the Congolese government on Friday, come as health authorities intensify efforts to contain the deadly outbreak.
According to Reuters, the outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola and has become the largest and deadliest in the DRC’s history, surpassing the 2018–2020 epidemic. More than 2,000 patients have reportedly recovered, The News Edition reports.
The outbreak is now the second-deadliest Ebola epidemic on record, behind the 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people and infected over 28,600 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Although the Congolese government and the United Nations reported a slowdown in transmission in parts of Ituri Province last month, the latest figures indicate that the virus continues to spread in eastern DRC, including neighbouring North Kivu.
South Ubangi Province in the country’s northwest became the seventh affected province last month after a man who had travelled from eastern DRC died from the disease.
The continued rise in infections and deaths highlights the challenges facing health authorities as they work to contain the outbreak across the affected regions.