Story highlights It's "going to be tough and it's going to be costly to stamp out this outbreak," WHO official says34 people are suspected to have been infected with Ebola in the new outbreak; 18 have diedMobile labs and hospitals are being deployed(CNN) The World Health Organization is preparing for the "worst-case scenario" as it continues to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There have been 34 cases of Ebola virus disease reported during the past five weeks, the WHO said Friday. "The number of suspected, probable and confirmed cases is significant, so we are very concerned, and we are planning for all scenarios, including the worst-case scenario," Salama said. Ebola virus disease, which most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates such as monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees, is caused by one of five Ebola viruses. On average, about 50% of people who become ill with Ebola die.

Source: CNN May 11, 2018 15:50 UTC