The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo may not be brought under control until the end of this year, a senior UK government official has warned.

The official, who did not want to be named, said that although there were signs that the various control measures deployed by the authorities were working, there would be no quick resolution.

The official said: “This is a slow-burn crisis. It’s going to take at least of the rest of this year to deal with it. It’s not going to be controlled quickly.”

The UK has been one of the fourth biggest donors to the current outbreak alongside the United States government, the European Union and the World Bank. Members of the UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team, a partnership between the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Public Health England, have been on the ground since the onset.

The latest figures from the World Health Organization show that since the outbreak was declared on August 1 there have been 895 cases of the disease and 561 deaths.