India, May 16 -- A new Ebola outbreak has emerged in the the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province, according to country's health ministry, which has reported the death toll to be 65 so far.

Country's health minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said late Friday that samples tested on Thursday confirmed eight cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in the health zones of Rwampara, Mongwalu, and Bunia.

Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness endemic to Congo's tropical forests. According to the Africa CDC, it spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people, contaminated materials, or those who have died from the disease.

So far 246 suspected cases have been identified, authori...