An outbreak of plague in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 61 diamond miners and infected hundreds more, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday.

Many of the 7,000 miners working in Zobia, north of the city of Kisangani, have fled since the outbreak began two months ago, and could have spread the highly contagious disease, the United Nations agency said.

"The epidemiological data is still incomplete but we are sure there are at least 61 deaths. The main problem is that due to panic, maybe two-thirds of the population, ran away from the mine," Eric Bertherat, head of the WHO team, told reporters.

"There is a risk that some patients in incubation run away and maybe arrive in Kisangani. So it is very important to inform health care workers to alert them of the risk of admission of highly-contagious patients," he said.

Kisangani is Congo's third biggest city and a major trading centre on the Congo River.

Plague, which is spread between rodents by fleas, can also be transmitted to people through infected rodent flea bites. It has a case-fatality rate of 50 to 60 per cent among humans if not treated with antibiotics, WHO says.

There are three main forms of plague in humans and the one suspected in the former Zaire is pneumonic plague, which affects victims' lungs, WHO said.

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