PRETORIA, August 21. /TASS/. The Ebola death toll during the ongoing outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has reached 2,516, the Congolese Ministry of Communication and Media said.

The number of people infected with Ebola stands at 5,290, with a case fatality rate of 47.6%. Hospitals and medical isolation centers are treating 873 people with symptoms of the disease. The rate of contact tracing among people exposed to Ebola patients stands at 82.9%.

The outbreak, which began in the DRC and Uganda on May 15, has already become the second-deadliest in the history of Ebola outbreaks in Africa.

The disease has now been detected in six Congolese provinces, with the epicenter in Ituri Province. Ugandan authorities announced on July 28 that the Ebola outbreak in the country had ended.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which a vaccine is still undergoing clinical trials.

The World Health Organization has classified the Ebola outbreak in the DRC as a public health emergency of international concern.