KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — The number of suspected Ebola cases in Congo's southern Kasai province have more than doubled in a week since a new outbreak was confirmed there, Africa’s top public health agency said Thursday.

The suspected cases have increased from 28 to 68 in recent days, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at an online briefing. It has also spread from two to four districts while the death toll currently stands at 16.

Local residents expressed concerns on Thursday over the outbreak, the first in Congo in three years and the province’s first in more than a decade.

The Kasai province is a remote part of Congo with poor road networks and is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from the nation's capital of Kinshasa.

In addition, fighting in eastern Congo

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