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The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak has now surpassed 4,000 confirmed cases, marking the world's second-largest epidemic, according to government data. This outbreak is being described as the fastest-spreading on record. Experts believe the virus began spreading months prior to the official declaration of the outbreak on May 15, and that the actual number of cases could be significantly higher than the current tally.

The Central African nation's public health institute revealed in a recent report that the total number of infections has reached 4,053, with 1,850 deaths recorded thus far. These cases have been identified across five provinces: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo.

A study published in the journal Science last month suggested that the Ebola outbreak in Congo originated in January, or even earlier, in Ituri. Researchers found more than 500 suspected cases between mid-January and May 15. The slow detection, overwhelmed surveillance, ongoing military conflict, and the scarcity of vaccines and treatments for the specific virus strain have allowed the disease to outpace containment efforts during this outbreak.

Up until now, only the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak has been larger, with over 28,000 cases reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.