The Democratic Republic of the Congo is battling a rapidly worsening Ebola epidemic in the east of the country, where health services are already under severe pressure. The epidemic marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in the country.
Of the 3,075 people infected, 1,354 have died, according to official figures published on Sunday. Around 1,000 new cases were recorded in the past few days alone.
The outbreak was declared on 15 May and has since spread to five provinces in the east of the Central African country. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 90% of cases have been detected in the north-eastern province of Ituri, near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan.
Authorities have partly attributed the sharp increase in cases to improved detection and more extensive testing. Experts believe the epidemic could continue for several months.
Strikes by healthcare workers over unpaid wages are also hampering efforts to contain the disease in a number of hospitals.
The disease is being caused by the Bundibugyo variant of the virus, for which there is currently neither a treatment nor a vaccine. Work is under way, however, to develop an effective vaccine and make it available as soon as possible.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. More than 15,000 people have died from the disease in Africa over the past 50 years.
