Death toll from Ebola outbreak in Central Africa sharply rises

(NBC, KYMA) - The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa rose sharply Tuesday, with the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) expressing concern over the "scale and speed of the epidemic."

At least 131 people are believed to have died and 531 suspected to have been infected, according to the Congolese Health Ministry.

An American missionary was among those who tested positive for the deadly disease.

Global health experts are worried about the capacity of this outbreak to cause widespread illness and death in Central Africa, not least because this rare strain of Ebola, the Bundibugyo virus, has no approved vaccine or treatment and a shortage of available tests.

The outbreak was also undetected for weeks, adding to the complexities in containing it.

It has ripped through a region riven by civil war and conflict, while health officials said funding shortages were further hampering their ability to fight ebola.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday he was "deeply concerned about the Scale and speed of the epidemic."

The State Department said that it was "strongly" urging Americans not to travel to Congo, South Sudan or Uganda for any reason."

Most cases have been in towns at the heart of the region's gold-mining industry, which necessitates cross-border travel, but they have also been reported as far away as the rebel-held city of Goma, some 230 miles from the outbreak's epicenter in the eastern Ituri province, as well as in neighboring Uganda.

The number of suspected cases has risen dramatically from the 300 believed infected and 88 killed as of Monday.

There have been only a couple of previous bundibugyo outbreaks one in Uganda in 2007 and one in Congo in 2012.

The fatality rate during those incidents ranged from 30% to 50%, according to WHO.