Published Date: 2007-10-01 17:00:09
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (09)
Archive Number: 20071001.3245
EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - CONGO DR (09)
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: 1 Oct 2007
Source: Dog Flu.com [edited]
<http://www.dogflu.ca/09302007/19/more_ebola_confirmed_in_congo>
It is being reported that 7 more cases of Ebola virus infection have
been confirmed in people living in the Congo. According to WHO and
government officials, these latest cases of the virus bring the total
cases to be reported in the area to 24. "The total number of
confirmed positive Ebola cases are at 24 out of a total of 53
patients tested," said the DRC health ministry, adding that 6 of
these have already died.
According to a statement released by the ministry, "The 7 confirmed
cases all come from the Kampungu area," the epicentre of the deadly
hemorrhagic fever located 150 km (93 miles) northwest of Kananga, the
provincial capital. "We're still in the middle of an epidemic," said
Benoit Kebela, head of the government's inter-ministry group tackling
the outbreak. "In order to declare it under control, you have to wait
twice the incubation period, or 42 days after the last death," he said.
Ebola, which is fatal in between 50 and 90 percent of cases, is
transmitted by contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other
bodily fluids of infected persons. Symptoms exhibited by a person who
is infected with the Ebola virus include fever, muscle pain,
vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, bleeding from orifices.
--
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ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Since the previous report from the Kasat Occidental province of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the number of confirmed cases has
risen from 17 to 24, with the number of fatalities remaining at 6. It
is unclear how recently the 53 patients tested were potentially
exposed to infection. Further information is awaited. - Mod.CP]