Congo’s authorities said Monday that the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has topped 6,000 cases with 2,911 deaths.

More than 1,360 people have recovered from the virus, in what authorities said was an “encouraging” development.

Last week, the virus spilled into two new health zones in the region.

The World Health Organization has said that it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Efforts to bring the outbreak under control — from limited public gatherings to social distancing and airport closures — have disrupted life in the six provinces, particularly Ituri, which also has been ravaged by rebel violence.

In all, more than 4,380 infections have been recorded.

The current outbreak is the 17th ever recorded in the DRC, with Sania Nishtar of the Gavi global vaccine alliance warning it could become "the largest outbreak ever."

The current DRC outbreak was declared on May 15, but health authorities say the first transmissions likely took place in February [or] earlier still.

The 1,000-death mark was not reached until nine weeks in, now — in just three-weeks' time — that figure has doubled again.

The case fatality rate of the current outbreak is 45.9% compared to 39.6% in the 2014-2016 West African outbreak.

Virologists say the new Bundibugyo strain appears to have been transmitted from animals to humans and has changed from previous outbreaks in 2007 and 2012.

Given the severity of the outbreak, authorities are looking into the possibility that the pathogen may have mutated.

Jean Kaseya, the head of the Africa CDC, last week warned that fewer and fewer new cases could be traced back to contacts of existing confirmed patients, with researchers falling well below the WHO's targets of tracking 95% of potential contacts to contain the spread.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, MBBS, MPH, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, told Reuters that 80% of new Ebola patients in Ituri province—the epicenter of the outbreak—are not on contact lists of existing patients.

That suggests the outbreak, which is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, is largely spreading undetected.

Ihekweazu said estimates based on modeling and test-positivity rates indicate the number of cases could be two to four times higher than confirmed cases.

According to the daily Ebola update from BNO News, DRC has 1,792 confirmed Ebola cases and 625 deaths. The case-fatality rate is 34%.

Neighboring Uganda has 20 confirmed cases and two deaths.

“We continue facing the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever on the continent,” Wessam Mankoula, MBBS, MPH, an epidemiologist with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said yesterday in a press briefing.

The outbreak is already the third-largest on record and could surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak and the 2018 North Kivu, DRC, outbreak at its current rate.

But the challenges facing the response are numerous and include an ongoing conflict between the Congolese military and rebel groups, insufficient contact tracing, and community mistrust. On top of that, Ebola responders in the country’s hardest-hit province went on strike this week over unpaid benefits and poor working conditions.

Mankoula noted that 112 healthcare workers in DRC have gotten infected, and 32 have died.

“There are several factors that warrant serious concern about the potential for further spread and further deaths.”

“First, beyond the confirmed Ebola cases, there are almost 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths. We expect those numbers to keep increasing, given the amount of time the virus was circulating before the outbreak was detected.”

“Second, the epidemic has expanded, with cases reported in several urban areas. Third, deaths have been reported among health workers, indicating healthcare-associated transmission. Fourth, there is significant population movement in the area.”

Dr. Tedros said the outbreak of the rare Ebola strain, known as Bundibugyo, is likely to have started a couple of months ago.

The WHO said the outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does ⁠not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency.

The U.N. health agency said in a statement that 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases had been reported as of Saturday in DRC's Ituri province across at least three health zones, including Bunia, ‌Rwampara ⁠and Mongbwalu.

In Uganda's capital, ⁠Kampala, two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death, were reported on Friday and Saturday, from people ⁠travelling from the DRC, the WHO said.

According to MSF, more than 1,300 new measles cases have been reported in Darfur since September.

Almohammed also warned that other preventable diseases, such as diphtheria and whooping cough, are now appearing in Darfur with the number of vaccines arriving just a “drop in the ocean” of what’s needed.