The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing its largest Ebola outbreak on record, with the Bundibugyo virus spreading across dozens of health zones and continuing to produce large numbers of new cases.

As of Sept. 23, the DRC had recorded 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths, giving the outbreak a crude case-fatality rate of 48.1%, according to the World Health Organization. More than 1,900 patients have recovered.

The outbreak was first detected in May and has expanded dramatically since then. The number of affected health zones has reached 63 across seven of the country's 26 provinces. Ituri remains the epicenter, while North Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, South Kivu and Sud Ubangi have also reported cases.

The outbreak's speed has been a major concern for health officials. WHO previously described the epidemic as expanding faster than any previous Ebola outbreak in the DRC. By mid-August, more than 4,600 confirmed cases had already been recorded, with the total continuing to climb sharply through September.

The outbreak is particularly difficult to contain because of insecurity, population displacement and limited access to healthcare. WHO said those conditions are hampering surveillance, contact tracing, infection prevention and timely treatment, allowing transmission to continue within households, communities and healthcare facilities.

As of Sept. 23, more than 32,000 people identified as contacts required follow-up, and health workers successfully monitored roughly 83% of them during the previous 24-hour period. The sheer number of people requiring surveillance illustrates the scale of the response facing health authorities.

The outbreak has also generated concern about potential cross-border transmission. Cases linked to the DRC have previously been identified in Uganda, France and Germany, although WHO continues to assess the risk to the wider global population as low. The agency considers the risk inside the DRC very high and the risk to neighboring countries with land borders high.

The Bundibugyo virus is one of the Ebola species known to cause severe disease. Unlike Ebola Zaire, for which licensed vaccines exist, there is currently no licensed vaccine specifically for Bundibugyo virus, although researchers and international health organizations are working to evaluate vaccine candidates.

WHO has maintained that the outbreak requires an aggressive response focused on rapid case detection, contact tracing, infection control and access to appropriate medical care. Despite the severity of the outbreak, the agency has not recommended broad travel or trade restrictions against affected countries, instead emphasizing surveillance and coordinated cross-border preparedness.

The continuing rise in cases has made the outbreak one of the most significant Ebola emergencies in recent years, with health officials facing the added challenge of containing transmission in regions where conflict and limited infrastructure make an already dangerous disease considerably harder to control.