Democratic republic of congo: The fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak in history has spread to two new health zones in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing the total number of affected zones to 60.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, data released Friday by the Congolese Ministry of Health shows that the two new zones are Biyina and Manguredjiba in North Kivu province, where the case fatality rate exceeds the overall national average of 48 percent, partly due to delayed response efforts.

The ministry reported that the outbreak has so far recorded 5,794 confirmed cases, including 2,786 deaths, with the virus spreading at an unprecedented rate that outpaces efforts to track and contain it.

The spread of the virus is occurring amidst extremely difficult conditions, including insecurity, displacement, health worker strikes, and large-scale population movements.

The Democratic Republic of Congo began vaccinating healthcare workers and other frontline workers on Thursday with the Ervebo vaccine, which proved effective in previous Ebola outbreaks caused by a more common strain of the virus. Clinical trials are ongoing to develop a licensed vaccine for the current outbreak.

The World Health Organization confirmed the day before yesterday that the outbreak remains out of control and is on a trajectory that could make it surpass the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the deadliest on record, which claimed more than 11,000 lives, mostly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.