The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has increased to 4,449, including 2,061 deaths, government data showed late on Tuesday.
The latest grim milestone is what health officials have described as the fastest-spreading outbreak on record.
The data from DRC's public health institute reported confirmed cases across five provinces. Delayed detection, conflict and strained health services have helped the virus spread more rapidly than in previous outbreaks.
The current outbreak, DRC's 17th, is caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments. The World Health Organisation has declared the outbreak, which has also led to cases in neighbouring Uganda, a public health emergency of international concern.
A study published last month in the journal Science found that transmission may have begun in January or earlier in Ituri province, identifying more than 500 suspected cases between mid-January and May 15.
Shortages of medical supplies and insecurity in affected areas have complicated efforts to trace contacts, isolate patients and curb transmission.
DRC government data shows that the current outbreak is dwarfed only by the one in West Africa's from 2014 to 2016, in which 28,616 cases and 11,310 deaths were recorded across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the WHO.
It took nearly five months from the declaration of that outbreak to hit 1,000 deaths, whereas DRC's current outbreak has hit 2,000 deaths in less than three months.
In an Ebola outbreak in DRC from 2018 to 2020, it took just over 12 months to hit 2,000 deaths. In the current outbreak, deaths have jumped from 1,000 to 2,000 in less than a month, underscoring how quickly the virus is spreading.
