The Democratic Republic of Congo’s current Ebola outbreak has claimed 2 325 lives, making it the deadliest the country has faced, according to government figures released on Monday.

The deaths resulted from 4 945 confirmed cases, surpassing the 2018-2020 outbreak that killed 2 299 people from 3 381 confirmed cases in the DRC.

The United Nations described the outbreak as “the fastest growing on record”, with a victim dying every 30 minutes in the central African nation of more than 100 million people.

The outbreak began in Ituri province in the conflict-affected northeast and has spread to five other provinces. Declared on 15 May, health officials believe it had been spreading for several weeks before detection. This is the DRC’s 17th Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organisation said last week it aims to reverse the disease’s spread within three months.

Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes haemorrhagic fever. The virus has killed more than 15 000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

The deadliest Ebola outbreak globally occurred in west Africa between 2013 and 2016, killing more than 11 300 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

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