At least one person has died after contracting the
virus in the country's north-east, the WHO says.
More than 11,000 people died in the Ebola outbreak in
West Africa in 2014-2015, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The last outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic
of Congo was in 2014 and killed more than 40 people.
According to BBC News, Of the nine people suspected to
have contracted the deadly virus, three died, with one case of Ebola confirmed
through tests at the national laboratory in the capital Kinshasa, WHO Congo
representative Allarangar Yokouide said in a statement.
People began to get sick on or after 22 April in
Bas-Uele province in the country's far north, he added.
The region affected lies 1,300km (800 miles)
north-east of Kinshasa, close to the border with the Central African Republic.
The region affected lies 1,300km (800 miles)
north-east of Kinshasa, close to the border with the Central African Republic.
"It
is in a very remote zone, very forested, so we are a little lucky. But we
always take this very seriously," WHO Congo spokesman Eric Kabambi told
Reuters news agency.
The
WHO described the outbreak as "a public health crisis of international
importance".
It
said the first teams of experts, including epidemiologists, biologists and
hygiene specialists had been dispatched and were due to arrive in the affected
region by Friday or Saturday.
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