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.

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 on Saturday visited eastern Congo's Bunia, a city at the heart of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola, where the virus is spreading faster than the response despite better-organized health facilities and new aid arrivals.

The Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could grow to 20,000 cases or more, depending on how quickly infected people are isolated to slow the spread. The U.S.

No approved therapeutics exist for the virus species causing the outbreak, which has been associated with more than 1,000 cases of Ebola. The World Health Organization has identified several therapeut

The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, after officials identified more than 250 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths linked to the disease.

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.