Congo says confirmed Ebola cases rise to 956

The Democratic Republic of Congo has said ⁠the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country ‌had risen ⁠to ‌956, including 247 ⁠deaths.

This represents a rise since Friday, when confirmed cases were at ⁠933, with 245 deaths.

The spike in cases comes in the wake of the World Health Organization warning that the virus is spreading rapidly, despite accelerating efforts to contain the outbreak.

The WHO said it was still racing to catch up with the worsening situation gripping northeastern DRC.

"The outbreak remains serious" and is "evolving so fast", said Marie-Roseline Belizaire, the WHO Africa emergencies chief.

The outbreak was declared on 15 May, though transmission had been going undetected for some time.

It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine.

Earlier this week, the head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo could be the worst ever, saying that it could cost billions of dollars to contain later if critical weaknesses in the response are not addressed quickly.

"If we don't stop the outbreak very soon it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern DRC," Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told a virtual meeting of African heads of state and donors in Burundi.