Fear has gripped Ebola-hit areas in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the suspected number of deaths continues to rise, as officials say they are struggling to catch up to an outbreak that may have previously been spreading undetected. Ebola has tortured us, says a taxi rider in his late twenties in the gold-mining town of Rwampara. I am scared because people are dying very fast... We are really afraid. Following a visit to Ituri province, the epicentre of the outbreak, over the weekend, Congolese Health Minister Dr Samuel Roger Kamba acknowledged health teams are playing catch-up with the virus, which may have been circulating earlier than first detected on 24 April. The presumed patient zero is a nurse who died in the provincial capital Bunia, but was buried in Mongwalu, also a gold-mining town. Most of the suspected cases and deaths have been reported there and in neighbouring Rwampara. Rwampara resident Fred Kiza told the BBC that there is fear, which he calls normal when there's a disease like this. It would be good if they gave us masks to protect ourselves. As of Tuesday, there were 514 suspected cases, with 136 people believed to have died from the virus, officials said. One person has also died in neighbouring Uganda. Cases have also been identified in Butembo city and rebel-controlled Goma in North Kivu province, as well as in South Kivu province. Health officials report that several deaths occurred in the community without being reported to the authorities, preventing necessary investigation at the time. Currently, four of the affected areas are in Ituri province: Mongwalu, Bunia, Rwampara and Nyakunde. Save the Children stated the Ebola outbreak is a new massive crisis on top of an already difficult situation in an area of conflict and humanitarian crisis.