(Photo by Daniel Buuma/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) — More than 1,500 people have died from Ebola as an outbreak continues to spread in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to government figures released on Thursday. The outbreak was first detected in the DRC’s northeastern province of Ituri, with cases officially confirmed by the health ministry on May 15. It marks the 17th outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the DRC, which is Africa’s second-largest country and its fourth-most populous nation. A doctor working on the Ebola response in the DRC told ABC News on Thursday that basic supplies for safe and dignified burials are running short in some areas. Meanwhile, in neighboring Uganda, health officials declared the Ebola outbreak over earlier this week.