Congo's Ebola outbreak is second-largest on record, latest data shows

Democratic Republic of Congo's fast-spreading Ebola outbreak is now the world's second-largest on record, government data showed on Friday. The number of cases reported across Congo has risen to 3,532, with 1,556 deaths recorded. Carl Skau, acting head of the U.N. World Food Programme, told Reuters this week, "It's the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic that we have ever seen. The world needs to pay much more attention."

Less than three months since the outbreak began, the disease has killed five times as many people as previous outbreaks had by the same stage, according to Africa's top public health agency, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which has no approved vaccine or treatment. The latest figures indicate that only West Africa's 2014 to 2016 outbreak was bigger, with 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization. Angele Gapio, head of emergencies for the Caritas charity in Bunia, said awareness campaigns were failing and frontline responders were exhausted and traumatised. She told Reuters, "The disease has now settled in the community. People continue to seek treatment from traditional healers, and the chain of transmission continues."