Geneva, Switzerland 18 November 2003 14:33
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday that 11 people who died recently in northwestern Congo had been infected with the Ebola virus and 105 more people are under surveillance in case they develop the highly infectious disease. "The Ebola diagnosis has been confirmed," WHO spokesperson Fadela Chaib told journalists. Congolese Health Minister Alain Moka confirmed on Saturday that an illness that had claimed the lives of 11 people in the Central African nation was caused by the deadly Ebola virus.
"Samples taken from the victims and analysed in a specialised center ... proved positive," Moka said. Chaib said: "Of the 11 cases, there are no survivors. There was a 100% fatality rate."
Two more suspected cases in the Mbomo region, 800km northwest of the capital, Brazzaville, have been ruled out, she said.
Medical teams have traced 105 people who had been in contact with the Ebola victims in the area and placed them under surveillance, she added.
"None of them shows signs of Ebola," Chaib said. Congolese authorities said people's movements throughout the relatively isolated area were being closely monitored.
In 2002, the same region was quarantined due to an Ebola outbreak that claimed the lives of more than 100 people.
There is currently no cure for the deadly fever, which is thought to be passed on through contact with infected animals in the Central African rainforest. Ten of the dead in the latest outbreak were hunters, according to the WHO.
Ebola is characterised by high fever, diarrhoea and bleeding from the nose and gums, and can induce massive internal haemorrhages. -- Sapa-AFP