The Congolese Government on Thursday confirmed that 1,521 people have died from Ebola in the latest epidemic that hit the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It also said that the number of laboratory-confirmed infections have risen to 3,442.

According to official figures, the fatality rate currently stands at 44 per cent, meaning that almost half of all confirmed cases have been fatal.

Experts believe there are high numbers of cases that are yet to be detected and reported.

They suspect that the virus had been spreading for months before the outbreak was first detected in mid-May.

Infection figures are rising faster than ever before in an Ebola outbreak.

Carl Skau, Deputy Director, World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday said “this is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak of all time. In West Africa, it took eight months for 1,000 people to die.

“In 2014 and 2015, more than 11,000 people died in an Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Around 2,300 people died in the second-worst recorded outbreak, which took place from 2018 to 2020 in eastern Congo.”

Ebola is a life-threatening disease.

The virus is transmitted through physical contact and, in particular, contact with bodily fluids.

(dpa/NAN)