The Democratic Republic of the Congo's health ministry reported an additional five confirmed Ebola cases in the eastern part of the country Oct. 6, according to Reuters.
The country has reported about one to two confirmed cases per day over the past few weeks. Health officials attributed the jump in new cases to heightened community resistance against outbreak response efforts. The five cases were located in the town of Beni, which has seen multiple attacks from rebel groups and public mistrust of the Ebola treatment and vaccination campaign.
The Congo has experienced 140 confirmed Ebola cases since July, 108 of which were fatal. Earlier this month, the WHO warned the Ebola epidemic could reach a "critical juncture" because of security threats and the disease's geographical spread.
"We are very concerned about the potential for the virus to spread into Uganda, but also into Rwanda, South Sudan and Burundi," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said at a U.N. Security Council meeting Oct. 3, according to Reuters.