History's second-largest Ebola outbreak has killed more than 400 people in the east and northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to national health officials.

A health ministry release said, "Since the start of the epidemic, the total number of cases is 658 - 609 confirmed and 49 probable," adding that the death toll is 402 lives lost in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.  They also said that 237 have been "cured" and another 200 suspected infections are still under investigation.

Health workers have been working with the accumulated knowledge of four decades since the oft-deadly viral disease was first DR Congo.  They're also working with the best toolkit they've ever had, including an anti-Ebola vaccine that appears to be curing people and preventing further transmission of the virus.

"Since the start of vaccinations on 8 August 2018, 60,460 people have been vaccinated, including 19,952 in Beni," said the health ministry.

Their success might have been better had they not been working in an area that has been at war for about 25 years, and in a nation beset with political uncertainty over the replacement of long-time autocratic ruler President Joseph Kabila.