The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become the biggest ever to hit the country and is the fastest spreading on record since it was officially declared in mid-May. As of Monday, there have been 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths, with the total expected to surpass 4,000 this week.
The head of the World Health Organization has arrived in Congo to support ramped-up measures to slow the world’s fastest-growing Ebola outbreak. He warned that all efforts against the virus must be urgently and massively scaled up.
The warning follows reports that new cases have been doubling in some hotspots in the past week alone. The outbreak has seen rapid growth despite being declared less than three months ago.