Bunia, 4 August

An Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo has killed 1,707 people out of 3,802 cases since it was first announced on 15 May, according to a government update on Tuesday, making it the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease on record.

Africa CDC Director-General Dr Jean Kaseya said it is not clear when the outbreak will peak. He cautioned that nearly 80 per cent of new cases are not being identified through contact tracing but are instead the result of community spread.

The outbreak is mostly concentrated in eastern Congo's remote Ituri province, which accounts for nearly 90 per cent of cases, but cases have also been confirmed in five other provinces, including in one of the country's largest cities, Kisangani.

A key challenge is that patient zero has yet to be identified, while displacement caused by the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo — along with violence by armed groups and illegal mining in the region — has made it difficult to trace thousands who came into contact with infected individuals.