The Democratic Republic of Congo's ebola epidemic has killed 2,011 people among 4,381 confirmed cases, according to updated figures released by Congolese health authorities Tuesday.
The outbreak, which began in May in the northeastern province of Ituri, has spread across multiple provinces in the country's northeast and east. The mortality rate stands at 45.9 percent, according to Congolese health authorities.
The current epidemic now approaches the scale of the 2018-2020 outbreak, the deadliest in DRC history, which killed nearly 2,300 people among 3,500 registered cases.
The virus belongs to the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine currently exists. The outbreak was declared on May 15.
The affected regions are characterized by weak state presence and insufficient resources at health facilities. Between 60 and 70 percent of deaths occur in communities far from medical care. Residents in these areas must travel long distances to reach treatment centers, a journey during which they may spread the virus to others.
The outbreak originated in Ituri province, one of the continent's most violent zones. The conflict-affected nature of these regions has compounded the difficulty of containing the epidemic.
On Friday, experts from the World Health Organization recommended evaluating the effectiveness of an already-approved ebola vaccine in clinical trials, given the absence of a vaccine specific to the Bundibugyo variant currently circulating in the DRC.