Fears grow of a wider Ebola outbreak in Central Africa as confirmed cases approach 500, with WHO warning the epidemic is spreading rapidly and needs urgent containment.

The rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola that Congo is battling took locals by surprise after weeks of spreading unnoticed. Hundreds of cases were suspected when the outbreak was declared in May, but many dismissed the news as a “Western conspiracy.

The head of the World Health Organization has visited Bunia in eastern Congo, where a rare Ebola outbreak is spreading rapidly.

Dozens of people have died and hundreds have been sickened in an Ebola outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Scientists believe Ebola viruses naturally exist in some wild animals, with bats considered one of the likely hosts.

A dangerous new Ebola outbreak is intensifying in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, fueled by the area's booming, unregulated gold mining industry. ・A severe Ebola outbreak in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is driven by unregulated gold mining activities.

Mining has been the lifeblood of this remote Congolese hill town for decades. Now, it is fueling the spread of a devastating virus.