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Ebola deaths hit 2,000 in Congo as WHO warns virus could become most deadly outbreak on record

As the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread at an alarming rate, WHO warns the true scale of the epidemic could be up to four times larger

[Staff prepare to bury the coffin of an Ebola victim in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo]

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More than 2,000 people have now died in the outbreak (Image: DIEUDONNE DIROLE/EPA/Shutterstock)

A bleak milestone has been reached with more than 2,000 people now dead as a rapidly-spreading outbreak of Ebola continues to rock the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is now the fastest-growing outbreak of the deadly disease on record with conflict, poor access, and payment issues all hampering relief efforts. This outbreak has killed more people at a faster rate than any ever recorded, with about 1,000 of the deaths occurring in the last three weeks, according to official government data.

As the virus continues to spread at an alarming rate, infection rates remain high as authorities struggle to get to grips with growth of the disease. There is no approved vaccine or any recognised therapeutic drugs to help treat victims and experts say the heartbreaking death toll, which has doubled in little over a fortnight, is so high because patients are not receiving care quickly enough, while many people are simply not seeking help at all.

[Health workers disinfects an ambulance]

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Help is desperately needed in Congo as the death tolls surges(Image: AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonn)

Ebola is rare, but highly contagious, and can be passed to people from wild animals. Human-to-human transmissions takes place through contact with bodily fluids of an infected person, such as vomit, blood, or semen, as well as through contact with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothes.

Worryingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the true scale of the outbreak could be up to four times larger than official figures indicate. It said this was because some of the communities at the epicentre in the Ituri province remained difficult to reach, due to fighting between rebel groups and attacks on healthcare and frontline workers.

Officials warned that in a worst-case scenario, it could approach the scale of the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people. Authorities in eastern Congo have moved to restrict public gatherings and closed its main airport in an effort to contain the spread.

[Staff members lower the coffin of an Ebola victim into a grave during a burial ceremony in Bunia]

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Staff lower the coffin of an Ebola victim into a grave during a burial ceremony in Bunia(Image: DIEUDONNE DIROLE/EPA/Shutterstock)

"We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us," WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi said on Monday. Mr Janabi also said at a news conference that health workers were only reaching about 30 per cent of the cases, with the rest dying at their homes.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: In the absence of an effective vaccine, control rests on identifying cases and then nursing them in secure facilities until they recover or sadly perish.

The current outbreak has shocked medics worldwide. A crisis was declared on May 15, but health authorities said testing of the virus genetic material shows it began months earlier, likely in February.

Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said: "These people are dying. They are dying because we don't have vaccines, we don't have medicine, we don't have funding."

So far there have been 4,294 confirmed cases and 2,001 deaths, DR Congo's health ministry has said.

Symptoms can start between two to 21 days following infection and can appear as a flu-like illness, such as with a high temperature, extreme tiredness and a headache. According to the NHS, other symptoms include;

• Being sick
• Diarrhoea and tummy pain
• A skin rash
• Yellowing of the skin and eyes
• Blood in your poo
• Lots of bruises all over your body
• Bleeding from your ears, eyes, nose or mouth
• Muscle pain
• Sore throat
• Blood in vomit or poo
• Bleeding from nose, gums or vagina

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