Congo says number of confirmed Ebola cases now at 1,155

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 1,155, including 304 deaths, government data showed on Thursday.

The number represented the total of confirmed cases as of Wednesday, according to a situation report that documented 37 new cases and five new deaths in the previous 24 hours.

Health officials said in the report that intensified epidemiological and biological surveillance had enabled earlier detection of cases, confirming continued growth in community transmission on a week-on-week basis.

Earlier, an Agence France-Presse report said trials of two separate potential treatments to fight the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are expected to begin next week, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

This outbreak is down to the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola virus -- for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that "preparations are now complete for a trial of two therapeutics that's expected to start in DRC next week."

The trial, he said, would evaluate whether the monoclonal antibody MBP134 and the antiviral drug remdesivir "can help to reduce mortality in patients with Bundibugyo virus -- alone, or in combination." — Reuters/GMA News