DHAKA: At least 31 people have been killed in an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The epidemic remains contained in a remote northwestern region, UN the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

“There are now 31 deaths,” Eugene Kambambi, the WHO’s head of communication in DR Congo citing Congolese authorities and stressing that the epidemic ‘remains contained’ in an area around 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of the capital Kinshasa, reports the Times of India.

Health officials had previously given a death toll of 13 people from the lethal haemorrhagic fever since August 11 around the isolated town of Boende, surrounded by dense tropical forest in Equateur province.

Kabambi was speaking by telephone from Mbandaka, the provincial capital, where he was accompanied by Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi and the WHO representative in DRC, Joseph Cabore. The three were due to travel later Tuesday to the Boende area, which has already been quarantined.

Kabamba added that there were "53 confirmed, suspected or likely cases" of Ebola, while 185 people were under medical watch because they had admitted to contact with patients or were believed to have had dealings with people stricken by the highly contagious disease.

BDST: 1958 HRS, SEP 2, 2014