Congo's Health Ministry has logged 131 suspected deaths and 513 potential cases in the latest outbreak in the country's east. The World Health Organization is holding an emergency meeting on Tuesday in Geneva.

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday voiced concern about the "scale and speed" of the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He said an emergency meeting would be held later Tuesday to discuss developments in Ituri province and other parts of eastern DRC.

The outbreak involves a rare strain of Ebola, called Bundibugyo, for which there is no recognized vaccine. It is also taking place in remote parts of the country, making lab testing of suspected cases slow and challenging.

Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba spoke on national television early on Tuesday, giving an update on the recorded progress of the hemorrhagic fever. "We have recorded roughly 131 deaths in total and we have around 513 suspected cases," Kamba said.

Late last week, authorities had cited 91 probable deaths out of 350 suspected cases. Germany's Health Ministry on Tuesday said it was preparing to treat a US doctor who has contracted the virus after a request from the US regime.

Many of the cases logged so far are in the northeastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces, near the border to Uganda, which has also recorded two cases among people who traveled from the DRC. WHO Director-General Tedros told the World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday that he had declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Source: www.dw.com