DR Congo on Sunday announced a "resurgence" of Ebola in its troubled east after a woman died of the disease, just three months after authorities declared the end of the country's latest outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it had dispatched a team of epidemiologists to the scene of the latest death to investigate.

Medical workers disinfect the coffin of a deceased unconfirmed Ebola patient inside an Ebola Treatment Centre run by the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), in Beni on August 13, 2018. Photo: VCG

"We have another episode of the Ebola virus" in the Biena health zone of North Kivu province, Health Minister Eteni Longondo told state television RTNC.

"It was a farmer, the wife of a survivor of Ebola, who showed typical signs of the disease on February 1," he added.

She died on Wednesday, after which a sample of her blood tested positive for Ebola, the health ministry said.

The WHO's Africa office said the woman had died in an area that had previously been one of the epicenters of the latest outbreak, near the town of Butembo. 

"It is not rare that sporadic cases continue after a major epidemic," the WHO said in a statement. It added that WHO epidemiologists were in Butembo investigating, and that more than 70 people who had been in contact with the woman had already been identified.

"The disinfection of sites visited by the patient is also underway," the UN agency said.