WHO says the number of Ebola deaths in the DRC has risen to 1,600

The number of people who have died from Ebola virus infection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has exceeded 1,600.

This was stated by World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

"As of August 1, [there were] 3,748 confirmed cases, including 1,657 confirmed deaths," he said at a briefing in Geneva.

According to him, the epidemic "continues to spread, exceeding the capacity of the response measures." "We need additional support not only financially, but also in the form of other resources to scale up the response in all areas," he added, noting that this concerns treatment capacity, teams of field researchers, teams for the safe burial of the dead and workers on the ground.

The 17th outbreak of Ebola fever began on May 15 in the east of the DRC and in Uganda. On August 1, the WHO called the outbreak the largest in the history of the DRC.