What is now the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history is swamping eastern Congo with the latest fatality numbers racing past 1,500 according to official data released Thursday. As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases have been recorded in the latest outbreak, and 1,521 people have died in a medical emergency the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) defined as a global health emergency back in May, as Breitbart News reported. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo and is thought to have spread from bats. It is rare but highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen.