Uganda's Health Ministry has reported two new cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the East African country to seven.

The two new cases are health workers at a private facility in the capital, Kampala, the ministry said in a statement.

"Both patients have been admitted to the designated treatment unit and are now receiving care," it said, adding that teams were now tracing anyone who had contact with the two individuals.

The cases in Uganda are linked to an outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the UN health agency says more than 900 cases have been recorded.

More than 200 people are believed to have died.

Congo declared an outbreak on May 15 caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

The majority of cases are concentrated in the country's eastern Ituri province, as well as in North Kivu and South Kivu. 

WHO chief urges neighboring countries to take immediate action

The World Helath Organization's (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the risk of spread during an online meeting of the African Union, saying, "countries bordering DRC are at especially high risk and should take immediate action."

"We are facing an extremely serious and difficult outbreak. It will get worse before it gets better," Tedros told African health ministers.

"We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment, the epidemic is outpacing us," he added.

Tedros said he would travel to DRC on Tuesday.

How did the virus spread in Uganda?

Uganda's first cases involved two Congolese citizens who crossed the border, prompting the country to suspend public transport to and from its neighbor last week.

Three more infections were confirmed on Saturday — a Ugandan driver, a health worker and a woman from Congo.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has urged Ugandans to "stop shaking hands" to avoid the virus spreading.

The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public ​health emergency ⁠of international concern.

Ebola is a deadly virus that can spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person. It can cause severe bleeding, vomiting and organ failure.

The virus has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa in the past 50 years.

Edited by: Richard Connor

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