At least 15 people have died in a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country’s health ministry has said.

The presence of the virus had been confirmed in a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted to hospital last month after showing symptoms that included a high fever and repeated vomiting, the ministry was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.

This will be the 16th outbreak of the deadly virus in the vast central African state that has poor health services, and is hit by conflict in the east.

The latest outbreak is in central Kasai province, with 28 suspected cases recorded, the ministry said.

Officials have urged strict adherence to preventive measures, including frequent handwashing and social distancing in high-risk areas.

An Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo killed more than 2,000 people in 2019, government figures show.

The virus, which is thought to have originated in fruit bats, was first detected in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now DR Congo.

People are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with Ebola.