An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been confirmed by the World Health Organization in Kasai province.

At least 166 people have died and WHO says it is aware of 372 other cases.

Specialist laboratories in Gabon and Atlanta in the US confirmed Ebola from blood samples, saying they also showed the presence of Shigella dysentery.

Ebola is highly contagious. People contracting the disease suffer severe stomach pain and internal bleeding.

The fatality rate for Ebola, which has no known cure, is as high as 90%.

WHO and Medecins sans Frontieres have despatched medical personnel to help the Congolese contain the outbreak.

An emergency response team of clinicians, water and sanitation experts and logisticians is on the way to organise clinical care and establish appropriate isolation facilities.

Quarantine

WHO has also requested additional support from the global outbreak alert and response network, and says specialised laboratories in Gabon, Canada and the US will share the analysis.

They say there could be a "possible concurrent outbreak of another etiology".

It is three months since people started falling sick from a mystery virus in several villages around Kananga, the capital of West Kasai region.

Several villages are under quarantine, but WHO says so far there is no need for any further restrictions on travel or trade with DR Congo.

The incident is the worst for several years and is likely to have serious consequences for some time to come - even if the spread has been contained.

It is thought to be transmitted through the consumption of infected bush meat and can also be spread by contact with the blood secretions of infected people.

DR Congo's last major Ebola outbreak killed more than 200 people in 1995 in Kikwit, about 400km (249 miles) west of the current outbreak.

The last major incidence of the disease was in Uganda in 2001 when more than 400 cases were reported and more than half of the patients died.

Uganda has issued a red alert to border posts neighbouring the DR Congo and has instructed staff at Entebbe international airport to be on the look out for passengers who show symptoms of fever.

PHOTO CAPTION

poster showing what not to do when in contact with the Ebola virus. The World Health Organisation said Tuesday that five cases of the deadly Ebola virus had been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after dozens of people succumbed to an unidentified illness in recent months. (AFP)

BBC