The Democratic Republic of the Congo on Oct. 7 reported 12 new cases of Ebola in the country's North Kivu province, bringing the total number of cases involved in the outbreak to 177.
Here are five things to know:
1. The total case count includes 142 confirmed and 35 probable infections. Eleven cases are still under investigation. The outbreak, which began Aug. 1, has caused 113 deaths.
2. Ten of the new cases occurred in Beni, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, according to a report from University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease and Research Policy in Minneapolis. The new Ebola infections represent "a second wave of confirmed cases among refractory contracts," Congo officials said of the Beni residents resisting outbreak response efforts, according to an Oct. 5 update.
3. Dr. Oly llunga Kalenga, DRC's minister of health, visited Beni the week of Oct 1. to deploy a new outbreak response strategy. Beni will be divided into 18 operational zones, corresponding to 18 health areas. A specific response team will staff each area to carry out Ebola prevention and treatment activities, according to the DRC.
4. The DRC also released an update about experimental Ebola treatments used in the outbreak. Of the 56 Ebola patients treated with mAb 114, remdesivir, ZMapp or Regeneron monoclonal antibodies, 27 have been cured and discharged, 14 died and 15 are still hospitalized.
5. Health workers have administered 14,869 Ebola vaccines in the Congo since Aug. 8.