Cases of eye-bleeding Ebola virus DOUBLE in a week as multiple towns locked down to control 'crisis'

CASES of Ebola virus have doubled in a week, with health authorities locking down multiple towns in an effort to contain the "crisis".

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared an Ebola outbreak last week after cases of the eye-bleeding disease were detected in the towns of Bulape and Mweka, in the southern Kasai Province.

Suspected case numbers stood at 28 last week, but they have more than doubled to 68, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said at an online briefing on September 11.

Ngashi Ngongo, the agency's incident management lead, said suspected cases include several people who died before the Ebola outbreak was identified.

The current death toll stands at 16, officials added. But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sa