KINSHASA, DR Congo – The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded more than 4,000 confirmed Ebola cases for the first time in its current outbreak, as health officials continue to battle what experts describe as the fastest-spreading epidemic of its kind. Okay News reports that the country’s public health institute has confirmed 4,053 infections, including 1,850 deaths. The outbreak has affected Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, with experts warning the actual number of infections is likely much higher than official figures. Researchers believe the virus was circulating for several months before authorities officially declared the outbreak on May 15. The current epidemic is now the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, surpassed only by the 2014–2016 West Africa epidemic, which recorded more than 28,000 cases across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.