Government data released Tuesday put confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at 10,060, with deaths at 4,887, according to Congo's health ministry. The outbreak, declared on May 15, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which no vaccine or treatment has been approved.

Nearly half of those confirmed to have the virus have died, and the World Health Organization announced Friday that the first clinical trial for a vaccine has been rolled out, with the Tumaini vaccine being administered in Ituri.

It is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history and the deadliest ever recorded in Congo, and Al Jazeera reports it is now the second-largest and second-deadliest outbreak on record behind only the 2014-2016 West African epidemic, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed over 11,000 within two years.

This outbreak has produced at least three times the number of cases and deaths in just over five months, and it has spread farther across Africa than any previous Ebola epidemic.

Cases have now been recorded in five countries, with Uganda and France having no active cases at the moment. Nigeria became the fourth African country impacted when a woman married to a Swiss diplomat, believed to have been infected in Uganda, was diagnosed there and evacuated to Switzerland.

Uganda has ordered a 21-day quarantine for citizens returning from the DRC.

About 80 percent of recorded cases are still coming from outside monitored contact chains, showing there is ongoing transmission that health authorities are not aware of.

The Africa CDC has said at least 95 percent of cases must come from known contacts for the outbreak to be considered largely under control. At least half of recorded deaths are among people never admitted to treatment centers, a sign many communities are still not reporting symptoms at all.

The disease has spread from three health zones in May to 66 health zones across eight provinces.

Response teams are battling armed conflict, poor roads and community mistrust. Reuters and AP reporting notes treatment centers are overwhelmed in some zones and responders are short of vehicles and medical supplies.

Health workers have gone on strike over unpaid wages, including in Nia Nia in Ituri province, and on Saturday a nurse was killed and a colleague severely injured while responding to an alert in Bafwasende, Tshopo province.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said everyone protecting communities must be able to work in dignity and safety.

African health ministers will hold a virtual summit on Wednesday to strengthen the continent's collective response. "Ebola is crossing borders. Our response must move faster, with stronger coordination, greater solidarity and decisive political leadership," Africa CDC head Dr. Jean Kaseya has said.

At least 2,600 patients have recovered in Congo, and a viral video showed health workers dancing as the last two patients were discharged at Mongbwalu. "The outbreak is far from over, but every life saved is worth celebrating," Tedros said.

The outbreak has also doubled maternal mortality in some provinces and disrupted childhood vaccinations.