Congo reports more than 9,000 Ebola infections, government data shows

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 9,000, government data showed on Tuesday, as responders struggle to slow transmission in multiple hotspots.

The latest situation report from Congo's public health institute put the number of cases at 9,066 and deaths at 4,381.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, was declared in May and has become the largest and deadliest in Congo's history, overtaking the 2018-2020 epidemic. The strain currently has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Globally it is second only to the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which infected over 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000 across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization.

The current outbreak has also affected other countries.

Uganda reported 20 cases and two deaths earlier in the year but was declared Ebola-free in August.

Last week Kenya confirmed its first imported case, a Kenyan national who had travelled from Congo via Uganda and died in Nairobi.

-Reporting by Stanis Bujakera;Additional reporting by Nilutpal Timsina and Amindeh Blaise Atabong;Editing by Alexander Winning/Reuters