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The deadly Ebola outbreak that has ravaged the Democratic Republic of Congo for nearly four months has left 19 people dead in just five days, the health ministry said.
The outbreak, which began on August 1, has already killed 241 people, the ministry said Tuesday in a statement.
"There were 241 deaths," the ministry said in updated information on Nov. 26, indicating that there had been 421 cases in total – 374 were confirmed and 47 more likely.
Another 74 suspected cases are under investigation.
The epidemic is the tenth largest in the DRC since the discovery of the Ebola virus in 1976.
The crisis is centered around the bustling city of Beni, in eastern North Kivu, in a region ravaged by armed conflict that has slowed efforts to stem the epidemic.
Ebola is a serious infectious disease that can spread rapidly through small amounts of body fluids, leading to internal bleeding and potentially death.
The DRC is conducting a major campaign for the December 23 elections to choose a successor to President Joseph Kabila, who has headed the vast country of Central Africa since 2001.
Since independence from Belgium in 1960, this poverty-stricken nation has never experienced a peaceful transition of power.
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