The cause of a new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been narrowed down to a pregnant woman  in Ikanamongo, a remote village in the northwestern province of Equateur that lies 1,200 km (750 miles) north of the capital Kinshasa.

The woman is reported to have been infected after she butchered a slain unidentified bush animal that her husband had brought home from a hunt.

In a statement, World Health Organization (WHO) said the woman, who died on August 11 of a then-unidentified hemorrhagic fever, could have been the first person infected in the latest outbreak. Other deaths were recorded among relatives of the woman, people who were in contact with clinic staff and those who handled the bodies of the victims during funeral ceremonies, the  WHO said.

A doctor and two nurses who were exposed to the woman during surgery also developed symptoms and died, along with a hygienist and another person identified as a “ward boy.”, Los Angeles Times reported.

If confirmed, this will be the seventh time Ebola has broke out in the Central African country since 1976.

The Health Ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Sunday that two samples taken from Ikanamongo had tested positive for the deadly virus, but added that the infections were from a different strain than the one that has killed more than 1,400 people in four West African countries.

A total of 24 suspected Ebola cases were identified in Congo between July 28 and Aug. 18, including 13 people who died, the WHO said, adding that So far, 80 people are being followed at the moment. None of them traveled to West Africa or were in contact with people from that region.

Samples have been sent to laboratories in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, and the nearby nation of Gabon to confirm the presence of Ebola and verify the strain, the United Nations health agency said in a statement.

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which is spread by contact with infected bodily fluids. The illness can jump from animals to humans through the handling or eating of infected carcasses.