Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo - Local authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say the population’s lack of information on Ebola and the traditional practice of washing corpses before funerals are helping the epidemic to spread.
Fifteen people have died in the current outbreak, which started in mid-August. It started in the village of Isiro and has now spread to Viadana.
Medical experts say increased education is needed to encourage people to use extreme caution when washing the bodies of Ebola victims before burial.
The disease is spread by contaminated body fluids - including sweat.
Although this is the ninth Ebola epidemic in the DRC, it is the first one in the Haut-Uele territory, in the north-eastern region.
Ebola has no cure and is deadly in 40 to 90 percent of cases.
The disease causes severe internal bleeding. - Sapa-AP