Nearly 50 confirmed Ebola cases in DR Congo

At least 49 new infections of the Ebola virus have been recorded as a part of an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Tuesday.

"The latest Situation Report from the 11th Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in #Mbandaka, Équateur Province #DRC (reported 13 July 2020). 49 cases (46 confirmed, 3 probable). 20 deceased and 11 recovered," WHO African Region tweeted.

"This is still a very active outbreak, and I would say it is still a great concern," Mike Ryan, the WHO's top emergency expert told a news briefing Monday.

The WHO expressed concern last month about the outbreak in the country's west.

"We are very concerned about this new outbreak in Mbandaka, where we have worked very closely with the government in 2018 to contain the last outbreak," said WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti.

Ebola, a tropical fever that first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the DRC, is transmitted to humans from wild animals.

It can also spread through contact with body fluids of infected people, or of those who have died from the virus.

Ebola caused global alarm in 2014 when the world's worst outbreak began in West Africa, killing more than 11,300 people and infecting an estimated 28,600 as it swept through Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.