Fast-moving Ebola outbreak now Congo’s worst

People dressed in protective gear lower into a grave the coffin containing the remains of Jeannine Katusabe, who died of Ebola, during a burial service in Bunia, Ituri province, eastern Congo, Aug. 11. —AP

BUNIA, Congo—Congo’s fast-moving Ebola outbreak has now killed over 2,300 people and become the deadliest outbreak of the disease on record in the Central African nation.

The outbreak unfolding in one of Congo’s most vulnerable regions is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever, with 4,945 cases, including 2,325 deaths, according to government data released overnight into Monday.

This is Congo’s 17th and largest Ebola outbreak. The toll eclipses that of the country’s 2018 to 2020 outbreak, when 2,299 deaths out of 3,481 cases were recorded.

The latest data shows 101 new cases and 33 deaths reported in the previous 24 hours.

Over 1,000 people have recovered, while 730 remain in hospitals or isolation. The outbreak has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other outbreak in history.