Kinshasa: The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has claimed more than 2,000 lives, according to figures released by the country’s public health authorities on Tuesday. "Today the Ebola epidemic surpassed 2,000 deaths, half of these in the last 20 days," UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis said on social media Tuesday. The outbreak has become the largest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic. The virus is ahead of us," Janabi said, pointing to the prolonged period during which transmission may have gone undetected. Some infections during the early phase of the outbreak may have initially been attributed to other illnesses, including malaria and typhoid, contributing to delays in recognising the extent of Ebola transmission, Janabi said, warning of prolonged undetected circulation.