Kinshasa, July 31 (SANA)The Democratic Republic of theCongo‘s currentEbolaoutbreak has become the second-largest ever recorded globally, government data showed on Friday, as infections continue to rise despite efforts to contain the disease.According to the Congolese Ministry of Communications, 3,532 Ebola cases have been recorded so far, surpassing the 3,481 infections reported during the country’s 2018–2020 outbreak. The death toll has reached 1,556.The latest figures make the current outbreak the second-largest in history, behind only the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

According to theWorld Health Organization, the West African outbreak remains the largest Ebola epidemic on record, with 28,616 confirmed cases and 11,310 deaths across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.The latest figures underscore the continued challenge facing health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where insecurity, limited healthcare infrastructure and the absence of an approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain have complicated efforts to contain the outbreak.