Congo's authorities announced earlier last week a new Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than a dozen people in a southern province.

Samples analyzed at the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, confirmed the presence of the most virulent strain of the virus, known as Zaire, the earlier name of the country.

The announcement comes as the authorities are facing renewed, intensified fighting in the east and an already fragile health care system has been further impaired by U.S. aid cuts.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted to people from wild animals. It then spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing, contam

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