The World Health Organization has announced that the Ebola disease has killed 32 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo since May.

WHO said on Tuesday that by September 15, "a cumulative total of 72 cases was recorded, including 14 cases that were confirmed positive after laboratory analysis, 32 probable cases and 26 suspected cases, while 32 deaths were registered."

Some 23 health workers were among the infected people, according to WHO. Five of them died and 215 people who have been in contact with the sick are under surveillance.

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is transmitted to human beings from monkeys and birds, and causes excessive bleeding from body openings in victims.


The virus was first identified in 1976 in the Ebola River region in Congo, when the country was known as Zaire.

The UN has launched an appeal for $2 million (1.53 million euros) to help fight the disease.

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Press TV