The number of people confirmed infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was heading towards 3,000 on Friday after officials reviewed data in two of the worst-hit provinces and ‌reported more ⁠than ⁠300 new cases.* The number of confirmed ​Ebola cases was 2,905, including 1,269 deaths, according to ​the daily report from the central African country's public health institute.* The number of ​confirmed deaths passed the ⁠1,000 mark ‌in figures announced late on ​Wednesday.* The ​World Health Organization has said ⁠the true scale of the outbreak could ​be two to four times ​larger than official data suggest.* The Ebola outbreak, Congo's 17th, was declared in mid-May but experts believe infections started circulating weeks earlier.* It is caused by the ‌rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which has a fatality rate of ​about 40%. ​There ⁠is no approved vaccine.* Congo's public health institute said the increase reported on Friday was largely driven by the reconciliation of data from Ituri and North Kivu provinces with national figures.