DR Congo's fastest-growing Ebola outbreak claims over 1,600 lives

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded 34 additional confirmed Ebola deaths over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll since the outbreak began two and a half months ago to 1,621, the country's Ministry of Health said.

Health authorities also confirmed 69 new Ebola infections during the same period, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 3,674, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The current epidemic has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. According to the Ministry of Health, it reached 1,000 deaths in just over two months, surpassing the pace of every previous Ebola epidemic.

By comparison, the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak—the deadliest Ebola epidemic ever recorded—took approximately eight months to reach the 1,000-death mark.

The outbreak has now spread to 49 health zones across five provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut Uele, and Tshopo.

Ituri remains the epicenter of the epidemic, accounting for 87.9% of cumulative confirmed cases and 76.8% of newly confirmed infections reported over the past 24 hours.

By Vafa Guliyeva