World Health Organization confirms Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

May 12 (UPI) -- The Ebola virus has killed at least three people in a new outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization confirmed.

The Congolese Ministry of Health said it notified the WHO of a "lab-confirmed case" of the virus by the national reference laboratory in Kinshasa, and WHO reported the deaths and an outbreak in the village of Likati in remote, northeastern Bas-Uele province.

On Saturday, the WHO reported 11 suspected cases of Ebola and three related deaths.

"WHO has already mobilized technical experts to be deployed on the ground and is ready to provide the leadership and technical expertise required to mount a coordinated and effective response," said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The last outbreak in the DRC of the Ebola virus, which causes internal bleeding, fever, headache, muscle pain and diarrhea, leading to death, was in 2014. It killed 42 people, and although it was of a different strain of virus, the outbreak coincided with an Ebola pandemic in nearby Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, in which more than 11,000 people died.