The World Health Organization (WHO) chief yesterday voiced concern about the “scale and speed” of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has killed an estimated 131 people.

The WHO has declared the surge of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever an international health emergency.

No vaccine or therapeutic treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for the latest outbreak of the disease.

“We have recorded roughly 131 deaths in total and we have around 513 suspected cases,” Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba said on national television early yesterday.

“At the international level, (we are) looking at what candidate vaccines or treatment are available and if any could be of use in this outbreak,” Anne Ancia, WHO’s DRC representative, told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Bunia in DRC’s Ituri region.

The US bolstered precautions to prevent the spread of Ebola, including screening air travellers from outbreak-hit areas.