The Democratic Republic of Congo's rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak has become the world's second-largest on record, government data showed Friday, as the virus continues to spread faster than efforts to contain it.
The Communications Ministry said the number of confirmed cases has climbed to 3,532, with 1,556 deaths recorded.
"It is the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen," Carl Skau, acting executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme, told Reuters this week. "The world needs to pay much more attention."
Less than three months after the outbreak began, Ebola has claimed five times as many lives as previous outbreaks had at the same stage, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent's leading public health agency.
The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
