An Ebola outbreak has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization (WHO) announces.

At least one person has died after contracting the Ebola virus in the DR Congo’s north-east, the WHO says.

Local health ministry had notified the WHO of a “lab-confirmed case” of Ebola, the WHO said on Twitter.

More than 11,000 people died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2015, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The last outbreak of Ebola in the DR Congo was in 2014 and killed 42 people.

The case was confirmed from tests on nine people who came down with a hemorrhagic fever on or after April 22 in Bas-Uele province in the country’s far north, a health ministry statement said.

WHO Congo spokesman Eric Kabambi told Reuters: “It is in a very remote zone, very forested, so we are a little lucky. Bu we always take this very seriously.”