An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo involving up to 20 people is in an extremely remote area and presents a high risk at a national level, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.

In an update on the outbreak, first confirmed last week, the United Nations health agency said there were two confirmed and 18 suspected cases of Ebola infection. Three people have died among the suspected and confirmed cases.

Peter Salama, the WHO's executive director for health emergencies, said the agency's risk assessment on the outbreak was that it is high at a national level, medium at regional level and low at global level.