Congo's Ebola outbreak has claimed at least 2,000 lives among confirmed cases, marking it as the fastest-growing on record, according to government data.
The latest figures show a total of 4,381 confirmed cases, with 2,011 deaths. Currently, 704 patients are in admission and isolation.
This grim milestone comes nearly three months after the outbreak was declared on May 15. It took approximately nine weeks for the outbreak to reach 1,000 deaths, but only about three additional weeks to record the next 1,000. This acceleration has led to complaints from responders that aid is not reaching remote areas quickly enough.
The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. The World Health Organization stated that the outbreak began in February, prior to its detection in one of Congo’s most remote and vulnerable regions. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak faced by the Central African nation since the virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River.