Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it.
Latest data from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's health ministry showed that 8067 cases have been confirmed, with 3901 deaths as of September 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country's 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48 per cent.
"The continuously high crude case fatality ratio, and especially the continuously high rate of deaths occurring in communities, highlights the seriousness of the disease and the persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care," the World Health Organisation said in its latest report.
Last week, the WHO said that Congo was running out of health workers to contain the disease.
Health workers have complained about delayed or missing payments, triggering several strikes despite the delicate nature of the outbreak.
According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 health workers have died since the outbreak was announced.
Some areas have shown signs of improvement, with a fall in confirmed cases, including in Ituri province and Haut-Uele, but officials say the disease is spreading further in other areas, expanding its geographical reach.
According to data from the Africa CDC, the current outbreak has outpaced the two-year-long West Africa regional outbreak in terms of spread in the same time.
By week 19, the regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016 recorded 3781 cases, while the current outbreak recorded 7840.
The WHO said it was on track to surpass the regional outbreak, which killed 11,000 people.
Containment efforts have been hamstrung by insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and intense population movements.
9°C