Two more people have reportedly died from the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Quoting Reuters, BBC said on Tuesday that the fatalities were recorded in the north-east city of Mbandaka.
This came as reports said that an Ebola vaccination campaign in a northwest provincial capital had begun in a major effort to stem an outbreak that already has spread from rural towns into a city of more than 1 million people.
An AP report said that the vaccination drive started a day after the health ministry announced that a nurse had died from Ebola in Bikoro. The rural northwestern town is where the outbreak announced in early May began.
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There are 49 hemorrhagic fever cases: 22 confirmed as Ebola, 21 probable and six suspected, according to Health Minister Oly Ilunga.
"We have established surveillance mechanisms and are following all cases and contacts," he said. "The response is well-organised because we have also put in surveillance measures at the entry and exit points of Mbandaka."
In a hopeful sign, two patients who were confirmed as positive for Ebola have recovered and are returning to their homes, where they will be monitored, Ilunga said. They have left the hospital "with a medical certificate attesting that they've recovered and can no longer transmit the disease because they have developed antibodies against Ebola," he said.
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