Ebola death toll rises to 31 in DR Congo

Death toll from an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Cong) has increased from 13 to 31, an advisor to the minister of health said Tuesday.

"The official account was 13 deaths, and then we add the 18 deaths, giving us a total of 31 deaths," said Dr. Shodu Lomani to Xinhua.

The Ebola outbreak was recorded in Djera, a remote region in the country's northwest province of Equateur.

The government has banned travels out of the affected region by any one who may show signs of the Ebola virus disease, said Lomani.

It was the DR Congo's seventh Ebola outbreak, which the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) said has no links with the ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa.