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NAIROBI: The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo is the “fastest growing” ever, African health authorities said on Thursday, as the World Health Organisation said it had killed 600 people.
Updated numbers issued by the UN health agency showed there have been 1,759 confirmed cases in DR Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, including 600 confirmed deaths.
“This is the fastest growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola,” Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters.
The deadliest Ebola outbreak — in 2013-16 in West Africa — had 994 cases in the first six weeks, compared to 1,596 in the current one, he said.
“We need to surge our response, and surging our response means financial resources, human resources,” Wessam said. “We are urging all partners, donors... to fast-track the disbursement of those resources.”
“The virus is still ahead of our response. It’s moving faster than deploying the resources to control the situation,” Mankoula said.
Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2026
