In a statement, the ministry said that surveillance and epidemiological investigations had confirmed the virus's spread across several eastern provinces.

Medical teams are working to prevent further transmission in the affected areas and racing to contain the outbreak through intensive vaccination campaigns targeting local residents, the ministry added.

The Congo's fast-spreading Ebola outbreak is now the world's second-largest on record, according to government data released on Friday, as transmission continues to outpace efforts to contain the epidemic.

The number of cases reported across Congo has risen to 3,532, according to the Communications Ministry, with 1,556 deaths recorded.

"It's the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic we have ever seen," Carl Skau, Acting Head of the UN World Food Programme, said this week. "The world needs to pay much more attention."