The number of people confirmed infected with Ebola in the Democratic Republic of ​Congo was heading towards 3,000 on ‌Friday after officials reviewed data in two of the worst-hit provinces and reported more than 300 ​new cases.

The number of confirmed Ebola ​cases was 2,905, including 1,269 deaths, according ⁠to the daily report from the central ​African country’s public health institute.

The number of ​confirmed deaths passed the 1,000 mark in figures announced late on Wednesday.

The World Health Organization has said the ​true scale of the outbreak could be ​two to four times larger than official data suggest.

The ‌Ebola ⁠outbreak, Congo’s 17th, was declared in mid-May but experts believe infections started circulating weeks earlier.

It is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain ​of the ​virus, which ⁠has a fatality rate of about 40%. There is no approved vaccine.

Congo’s ​public health institute said the increase ​reported ⁠on Friday was largely driven by the reconciliation of data from Ituri and North ⁠Kivu ​provinces with national figures.