A new Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 80 people, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Axar.az reports, citing BBC, Health officials reported around 246 suspected and confirmed cases in Ituri province, mainly in the gold-mining towns of Mongwalu and Rwampara. Laboratory tests have already confirmed several infections, while more suspected cases are under investigation in the provincial capital, Bunia.

Uganda has also confirmed an imported Ebola case involving a 59-year-old Congolese man who died in Kampala after testing positive for the virus.

Africa CDC warned that heavy population movement, mining activities, and urban transmission could increase the risk of the disease spreading across borders. Regional health authorities are now coordinating response efforts with neighbouring countries.

Ebola, first identified in DR Congo in 1976, spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids and can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. The World Health Organization says the virus has an average fatality rate of about 50%.

This is DR Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak. The country’s deadliest outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people.