Health officials say the ​current epidemic is spreading five times faster than previous outbreaks did at this stage. It took more than 10 months for eastern Congo to surpass 2,000 confirmed cases in that outbreak. Advertisement AdvertisementA HEADSTART FOR THE VIRUSThe rare ‌Bundibugyo species of the virus spread undetected for months before ⁠the outbreak was declared in May. Local funeral practices helped the virus spread before any alarm was raised, and continue to undermine the response. As of mid-July, ‌WHO had received less than half the funding needed to fight the eastern Congo outbreak.