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Published Date: 2012-08-20 22:00:04
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (04): (OE)
Archive Number: 20120820.1253396

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (04): ORIENTALE PROVINCE
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Date: 20 Aug 2012
Source: RT News [edited]
http://rt.com/news/ebola-outbreak-congo-nine-dead-048/

Deadly Ebola outbreak: 9 killed in DR Congo
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A total of 9 people have died from an outbreak of the Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), only weeks after the virulent disease was declared "under control" in neighbouring Uganda, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. The new cases of the Ebola fever were detected near the country's northwestern town of Isiro, the Congolese health minister said. A group of specialists from various international organizations -- the WHO, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- are working in the country alongside local doctors. They are conducting a detailed epidemiological investigation, and are attempting to quarantine people who may have been in contact with those infected.

The new outbreak comes just weeks after another Ebola epidemic in raises the number of fatalities in this outbreak from Uganda -- roughly 30 miles from its border with the DRC -- was declared to be over. The Ugandan outbreak killed 16 people in July [2012]. The 2 epidemics are not believed to be linked, since the virus strain found in the DRC is different from the one identified in Uganda, MSF reported.

Ebola is a rare [sometimes] haemorrhagic virus, 1st discovered in 1976 in Zaire (now the DRC). The disease was named after a small river in the country. Symptoms of Ebola infection include a sudden onset of fever, weakness, headaches, vomiting and kidney failure. The virus is reportedly fatal in 50-90 percent of cases [depending on virus strain - Mod.CP]. In the most severe infections, victims bleed from bodily orifices before dying. There is no treatment and no vaccine for Ebola fever, which is transmitted by close personal contact. It can also be transmitted to humans through the handling of infected animal carcasses, including monkeys and birds.

Congo's last major Ebola epidemic in 1995 killed 245 people. Recent Ebola outbreaks were recorded in Uganda, when 37 people were killed in the western part of the country in 2007, and when at least 170 died in the nation's northern region in 2000.

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[This report raises the number of fatalities from the 6 reported by the WHO on 17 Aug 2012 to 10. No additional information is provided beyond that contained in the WHO statement reported in ProMED-mail post 'Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (03): (OE) Bundibugyo virus conf 20120818.1250930'. The number of people affected, previously given as 10, is not stated. Further information is awaited. The simultaneous outbreak of Ebola virus infection in close proximity, caused by different strains of the virus, suggests that some climatic or environmental factor may be involved.

A map of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo is available at:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/democratic-republic-of-congo/democratic-republic-of-congo-political-map.html. The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/008z. - Mod.CP

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at: http://healthmap.org/r/1Ahy.]

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