Three new cases of the Ebola virus were confirmed on Saturday in Uganda, according to health authorities in this country which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the epidemic which now represents a "very high" risk to public health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Uganda, which on Thursday suspended all public transport to the DRC, confirmed on May 15 the presence of Ebola on its territory after the discovery of two cases, one of whom died.

"Three new cases have been confirmed in the country, bringing the total number to five," according to a statement from the Ugandan Ministry of Health released on Saturday.

According to health authorities, the patients are "a Ugandan driver who transported the first confirmed case in the country," and a "healthcare worker who was infected while providing care" to the same person. Both are currently receiving treatment.

The latest case is a Congolese woman who arrived in Uganda by plane.

"All contacts linked to the confirmed cases have been identified and are being monitored and tracked," the Ministry of Health assured.

The WHO has triggered an international health alert to deal with the Ebola epidemic in eastern DRC.

There are nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths in the DRC, a country of about 100 million people where the epidemic is "spreading rapidly", WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Friday.

In the absence of a vaccine and licensed treatment against the Bundibugyo strain of the virus responsible for the current outbreak, measures to try to contain its spread rely mainly on compliance with barrier measures and rapid detection of cases.