Second case of Ebola confirmed in Congo after outbreak of 17 suspected infections

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A second case of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This follows a previous outbreak of 17 other suspected cases in the nation.

Officials are trying to locate 125 people who are believed to be linked to cases identified in the remote northeastern province of Bas-Uele in Congo.

Three people have died so far in the 19 suspected and confirmed cases, WHO's Congo spokesman Eugene Kabambi said.

The latest outbreak comes one year after the end of the epidemic which killed more than 11,000 people across West Africa.

A staggering 300,000 emergency doses of an Ebola vaccine, developed by Merck, could be made available in case of a large-scale outbreak, the GAVI global vaccine alliance said.

It still remains unclear how the first victim, a male, caught the virus, although past outbreaks were caused by contact with infected bush meat – such as apes.

Congo, whose forests contain the River Ebola, where the disease was first detected in 1976, has experienced many outbreaks and has tended to succeed in containing the spread of the disease.