What to know about new Ebola outbreak that has already killed at least 65 people in Congo

Africa’s top public health body has confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province, the 17th since the disease first emerged in the country in 1976.

A total of 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths have already been recorded in the new outbreak, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement on Friday.

Here’s what to know about the health crisis:

The outbreak is in a remote part of Congo

The suspected Ebola cases have mainly been recorded in Ituri’s Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.

So far, only four of the deaths reported are laboratory-confirmed cases, but the new outbreak was confirmed after many suspected cases.

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