GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday it hopes to reverse the spread of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo within three months, but warned the deadly outbreak would not be over by then.

The epidemic, which began in the conflict-scarred northeastern province of Ituri, is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak, with 4,499 confirmed cases and 2,061 deaths, according to the WHO.

If all aspects of the response are implemented “at the same time across the five transmission zones, we are expecting a turnaround in three months,” said Abdirahman Mahamud, head of the WHO’s emergency response division.

The United Nations (UN) health agency stressed that bringing transmission under control would not mean the end of the outbreak, with surveillance efforts needing to continue to prevent a resurgence.

The DRC declared its 17th outbreak of Ebola on May 15, and the WHO two days later triggered a public health emergency of international concern, its second-highest alert level.

The disease has since spread across several provinces in the country’s northeast and east, where insecurity, weak state presence and poor health infrastructure have hampered the response.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said improving contact tracing was the “priority operational challenge”, with the aim of raising follow-up rates to 95 percent from around 80 percent currently.

“We are also tripling treatment capacity, with a goal of 3,000 beds within 12 weeks,” he added.

Ebola, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes a haemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.