Authorities on Monday confirmed that 12 people died from an unknown disease with symptoms similar to that of Ebola in north-eastern Congo.

“The deaths began in early July in the village of Mangina, near the town of Beni,’’ local administrator Donat Kibwana told newsmen.

Meanwhile, a local civil society group in Beni, said it had counted 15 deaths caused by the disease, which similar to Ebola, manifests itself through fever, diarrhoea, vomiting and nose bleeds.

“A nearby laboratory was currently analysing blood samples,” said Kibwana.

According to the provincial health ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had deployed a team of experts to the area.

On July 24, Congo officially declared a recent Ebola outbreak over.

The outbreak, which began in May, saw a total of 54 cases, of which 33 people died.

Ebola, a highly infectious disease that causes a fever, often leads to massive internal bleeding and fatalities.

During the last major Ebola outbreak in 2014, 11,000 died when the virus spread across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. (dpa/NAN)