Africa’s top public health body has declared a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern Ituri province, raising concerns over cross-border spread in a region already affected by conflict and frequent population movements.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in a statement on Friday that around 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths had been reported, mainly in the mining areas of Mongwalu and Rwampara, about 100 kilometres north of the provincial capital Bunia.

Among the cases confirmed by a laboratory, four people died.

Preliminary laboratory analysis by the National Biomedical Research Institute in Kinshasa detected the virus in 13 of 20 samples tested.

Health officials say sequencing is ongoing, but early indications suggest the strain is not the Zaire variant, which has been responsible for several previous outbreaks in the country.

Additional suspected cases have been reported in Bunia, a densely populated urban centre near the borders with Uganda and South Sudan, heightening fears of regional transmission.

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