The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has infected 6,186 people and killed 3,007 since it was declared in May, authorities said Wednesday, illustrating the size of the country’s fastest-growing Ebola epidemic.
The outbreak has spread across six provinces, with eastern Ituri province among the hardest hit. According to the World Health Organisation, the outbreak is being caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
The outbreak was officially announced on May 15 following the confirmation of cases in Ituri. Health officials think the virus could have been circulating unnoticed since February.
The WHO has warned the outbreak is still out of control, and could eclipse the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people.
Congo last week began a limited vaccination campaign, giving the Ervebo vaccine developed for a different Ebola strain to frontline health workers. Vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus are in clinical trials.
