Congo's Health Ministry reported Tuesday that confirmed cases in the country's Ebola outbreak have reached 9,066, with 4,381 deaths, as the virus spreads across seven provinces, according to The San Fernando Valley Sun and the New York Post.

The death toll is approaching half the number of confirmed cases. The latest report logged 88 new cases and warned that "community transmission remains a concern," while a large share of recorded deaths are occurring outside treatment centers.

The outbreak has now affected 65 health zones and created new hot spots as it reaches more communities, with Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, among the hardest-hit areas.

This outbreak has surpassed the scale of Congo's 16 previous outbreaks and is on track to exceed the 2014-2016 West Africa regional outbreak that killed 11,000 people.

It involves the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, which limits the tools available to responders.

Officials say the confirmed cases account for only about a third of all cases, with many infections going undetected — meaning the true scale of the outbreak is likely far larger than the official figures suggest.

The New York Post notes that widespread disregard for health precautions and intense population movements are also hampering the response.

Efforts to contain the virus have been impaired by fighting between government forces and rebel groups, which has created one of the world's direst humanitarian crises, alongside shortages of medical supplies and treatment centers, The San Fernando Valley Sun reports.

In Bunia, resident Samuel Buju told reporters, "I feel that the government is overwhelmed by events. But there is nothing else to say. The government needs to fully shoulder its responsibilities to ensure the effectiveness of the response against Ebola."

The combination of conflict, displacement and scarce treatment capacity has made it harder to trace contacts and isolate cases.

Cross-border spread is now a concrete worry: last week Kenya became the second country, after Uganda, to report an Ebola case imported from Congo, deepening concerns that the virus is moving across borders, both The San Fernando Valley Sun and the New York Post report.

With confirmed cases understating the real total and community transmission continuing in 65 health zones, health authorities face the prospect of the outbreak overtaking the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic as the deadliest on record unless detection, treatment capacity and cross-border coordination improve.