A WHO official said Ebola spread could get worse before it gets better, due to health worker exposures early in the outbreak.
The health ministry says 54 suspected cases are being investigated, up from 47.
One week after the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) health ministry declared a new outbreak in the east of the country, an immunization campaign began today, which targeted frontline health workers from the Mangina Reference Health Center, the epicenter of the outbreak, who had been in contact with confirmed cases and their contacts.
So far, there are 43 confirmed and probable cases, and health officials are probing 46 additional supected illnesses.
Thirteen of the 43 cases are confirmed; 3 health workers were infected, 1 fatally.
The outbreak is taking place in a war zone with difficult access, among other challenges.
In an update yesterday on a Cyclospora outbreak linked to McDonald's salads, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 109 more cases, raising the total to 395.
The number of affected states remained at 15, and the latest illness onset was Jul 20. So far 16 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) ministry of health confirmed that the new Ebola outbreak in the eastern reaches of the country is caused by the Zaire Ebola virus species, according to Science magazine.
The DRC says 4 people in the eastern part of the country tested positive for Ebola virus.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) health ministry announced yesterday that it has received reports of 25 fever cases with symptoms similar to Ebola in North Kivu province in the eastern part of the country.
In a statement, it said the affected area is in the Mangina health district.
