The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 1,405 people since late April, according to updated figures, after earlier tolls surpassed 1,000. Laboratory-confirmed infections have risen to 3,200, with the case fatality rate standing at 43.9 percent. Experts suspect a significant number of infections remain unrecorded.
The virus has now been detected in five of the country's 26 provinces, with the northeastern province of Ituri remaining the epicentre. In neighbouring Uganda, where at least two people died, no new cases have been registered since 21 June.
The current epidemic is the third-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record. Clinical trials for two antiviral treatments have been under way since early July, offering a potential path forward against the Bundibugyo strain, which lacks an approved vaccine.