More than 2,500 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak, which is the biggest in the country's history. Senior United Nations Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis stated that the virus is spreading exponentially and faster than any outbreak on record, covering an area larger than France.
More than half of the deaths have occurred within the past 20 days alone. While Congo has recorded 2,476 confirmed deaths, giving the outbreak a case-fatality rate of 47.5 per cent, UN officials have confirmed over 2,500 people have died.
The epidemic remains out of control amid DR Congo conflict, funding shortages, and attacks on health workers and facilities. The WHO is providing the country with thousands of vaccine doses in a bid to contain the virus.
Julien Harneis is urging a rapid scale-up of resources to prevent the epidemic from crossing into neighbouring countries.