Africa's top public health agency said on Friday that there was a confirmed Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province, with 65 deaths out of 246 suspected cases so far.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that it was convening an urgent meeting with Congo, Uganda, South Sudan and global partners to reinforce cross-border surveillance, preparedness and response efforts.

It said the deaths and suspected cases had been reported mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, while four deaths had been reported among laboratory-confirmed cases. Suspected cases have also been reported in Bunia, the provincial capital.

The agency said initial findings suggested the presence of a non-Zaire strain of the virus, with sequencing ongoing to further characterise it.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the Congolese virologist who co-discovered Ebola and heads the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, told Reuters that all but one of Congo's 16 previous outbreaks had been caused by the Zaire strain.

The identification of a different variant will complicate the response, he said, as existing treatments and vaccines were developed against the Zaire strain.

"Africa CDC is concerned about the risk of further spread due to the urban context of Bunia and Rwampara" as well as "intense population movement" and mobility related to mining in the affected areas, which are close to Uganda and South Sudan, the agency added.

"Given the high population movement between affected areas and neighbouring countries, rapid regional coordination is essential," Africa CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said in the statement.

ITURI HIT BY MILITIA CLASHES 

The new outbreak is unfolding against the backdrop of a deepening security crisis in Ituri, where clashes between rival militia groups have killed scores of civilians in recent weeks. 

The violence has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation, leaving health facilities overwhelmed or non-functional in parts of the province, Medecins Sans Frontieres said earlier this month. The medical charity warned of catastrophic hygiene conditions in displacement sites, raising the risk of disease outbreaks. 

The outbreak is the 17th in Congo since Ebola was first identified there in 1976. The country's most recent outbreak, in Kasai province, was declared over on December 1 after three months. Out of a total of 64 cases, 45 died and 19 others recovered.

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