Posted on 02/14/2003 9:42:07 AM PST by Neuromancer
BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - The death toll from a suspected outbreak of the deadly Ebola (news - web sites) virus in Congo Republic has crept up to 51 and people have begun fleeing into dense forest to escape what some believe to be an evil spell.
Authorities have tried to impose tight restrictions on movement in the hope of preventing the spread of the outbreak, the second reported in little over a year in the remote northwest. It is thought to have been caused by the consumption of infected monkey meat.
Health Minister Alain Moka said late on Thursday that 46 people had died in the Kelle region, and five in the nearby Mbomo region. On Wednesday, health officials put the death toll at 48.
The area is 440 miles from the capital Brazzaville, near the border with Gabon. It has been placed under quarantine and no one is allowed in or out without authorization.
Ebola, which is passed on by infected body fluids, kills 50 to 90 percent of its victims through massive internal bleeding, depending on the strain. There is no known cure.
Moka said the government had allocated $66,000 to fighting the highly contagious disease and sending medical teams to the affected area. Mobile radio stations and loudspeakers will be used to give advice to inhabitants. All movement between villages has been forbidden and sports competitions and cultural events banned, Moka said. But people have begun fleeing their homes as the disease has claimed more victims, raising fears it will spread further. Many locals believe the disease is caused by a spell cast by witch doctors.
On Wednesday, Congo's top official in the fight against Ebola, Joseph Mboussa, said authorities were still trying to determine whether the outbreak was Ebola but suspicions were strong because of the high number of deaths in such a short time.
Mboussa said the Ebola virus had been confirmed in tests on the bodies of animals found in surrounding forests where gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys and antelopes started dying in large numbers late last year.
I hope they can contain this outbreak.
This is what will happen in the US if we are hit with a massive smallpox attack.
It will take 1-2 weeks before the hospitals fill up... quarantines will be the main concern.
| Sunday Herald - 16 February 2003 |
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Stalked by the Ebola virus
VILLAGERS in the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville's more remote parts have been fleeing their homes as World Health Organisation experts, clad from head to toe in futuristic protective white suits, arrive to investigate a suspected outbreak of deadly Ebola fever.
Squads of WHO and government medical experts are attempting to draw blood samples to determine whether a viral infection that has killed more than 50 people is indeed Ebola. Passed on by infected blood, saliva and other body fluids, Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses known to man. It kills anywhere between 50% to 95% of its victims through massive internal and external bleeding, depending on the viral strain. There is no treatment, or cure. The current outbreak, 440 miles north of the capital Brazzaville and near the border with Gabon, began spreading among villagers after they butchered and ate the meat of infected gorillas. So-called 'bush meat' -- gorilla, monkey, antelope -- has been a staple part of the local diet for centuries. More than 80% of a clan of gorillas in the nearby forests of the 100 square mile Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary have recently died of Ebola. The Lossi sanctuary was created at the request of the villagers when they realised that the long-term benefits from gorilla viewing by tourists far outweighed any short-term benefits from hunting. But the catastrophic fall in the population of lowland gorillas in Lossi and the more famous 5250 square mile Odzala National Park, to the southwest, is threatening these magnificent animals at the very heart of their range in central Africa. Two Spanish primatologists, who have been studying eight gorilla families in a 15 square mile area of Lossi for the past decade, say all 139 of the gorillas have simply disappeared, apparently victims of Ebola. Two of the missing gorilla families had been habituated for tourism viewing. They were the first lowland gorillas ever to be habituated in central Africa and generated much-needed revenue for villagers. WHO's Geneva-based spokesman on infectious diseases, Ian Simpson, said medical teams are operating in the villages of Kele, Yembelangoye and Mbou. But he said WHO was not yet ready to confirm that an Ebola outbreak has occurred. 'There is no proof at this point that this is an outbreak of Ebola,' he said. 'We do know that there have been reports of haemorrhagic fever and that some of the symptoms are consistent with haemo rrhagic fever.' Simpson said test results would be known by tomorrow. But health officials in the capital, Brazzaville, are adamant that it is an Ebola outbreak. Last month, more than 25 people died of the virus in a nearby village across the border in Gabon before the outbreak was contained. Previously, the last known Ebola outbreak was in 2001 when about 100 people died in Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville. Authorities fear the death toll could be much higher than the 51 recorded so far. Because the villages are so remote, health officials have had difficulty in determining how many people have been infected. Doctors say that outbreaks in the region are difficult to contain because tradition requires family members to wash the body of the deceased before burial and they therefore come into close contact with infected fluids.
Since Ebola was discovered in 1976, there have been periodic outbreaks throughout central and east Africa. But, horrific though they are, Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers have been responsible for a tiny number of deaths -- around 1500 -- compared with the Aids virus, HIV. However, the devastating speed at which Ebola strikes, its easy transmission from person to person and the resulting massive destruction of the liver, make the virus one of the most feared in the world, the stuff of nightmares. The disease is named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), where it was first recognised. The exact origin, locations and source (known as the 'natural reservoir') of the virus remain unknown. Although gorillas and chimpanzees have been the source of infection for humans, they are not thought to be the reservoir. One theory is that it might be a plant virus. Meanwhile, churches, schools and government offices in Cuvette West, the province where the infected villages are located, have been closed and public gatherings banned. Health Minister Alain Moka said: 'Right now, the teams are having a lot of trouble working with the villagers, who believe the disease is a terrible curse. The population doesn't believe in Ebola.' The villagers, mostly pygmies, have been panicking and fleeing when they see WHO workers approaching, bearing syringes, wearing heavy white boots and white protective suits topped by transparent fully enclosing helmets. A possible reason for the villagers' fear is the mistreatment they received at the hands of Gabonese troops who came to their area to contain an Ebola outbreak in 1996 and 1997. The Ebola epidemic among the lowland gorillas appears to be spreading from west to east. William Karesh, head of the US Wildlife Conservation Society's Field Veterinary Programme, said there was no known way to contain the epidemic among animals. 'When people are infected we can educate them about the risk of touching or consuming dead or sick animals and, if they are sick, to immediately let authorities know so they can be isolated before they infect other people,' he said. 'But for animals, at this time, we have to let the disease run its course in the forest because there are no known treatments besides supportive care for infected humans. 'Humans definitely are the major source of spreading the disease among humans. 'The typical Ebola outbreak involves one or maybe two or three people contracting the disease from some source in the forest and then infecting family members and neighbours in a chain that can grow to hundreds of people. 'Similarly, our understanding of the social nature of chimps and gorillas suggest the same happens to them. One or a few become ill and then infect the other members of their family group. As the group is dying, some infected individuals may be left to wander off and join and infect another family group.' |
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Death Toll from Suspected Ebola in Congo Nears 60
By Christian Tsoumou BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - A suspected outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has killed nearly 60 people in the northwest of Congo Republic, health officials said on Tuesday. Congo's Health Ministry said it had recorded 58 deaths while the World Health Organization (WHO), based in Geneva, Switzerland, said on Tuesday it had logged 59 deaths from 73 suspected cases of the disease, for which there is no known cure.
Ebola, which is passed on by infected body fluids, kills 50% to 90% of its victims through massive internal bleeding, depending on the strain of the disease.
The districts of Kelle and Mbomo, near the border with Gabon, have been particularly affected by the outbreak, thought to have been caused by the consumption of infected monkey meat.
The area is about 440 miles from the capital Brazzaville and the outbreak is the second in little more than a year in the remote northwest of the central African country.
Last Friday, local health officials put the death toll at 51, while the World Health Organization said 50 people had died out of a total of 61 suspected cases.
Official confirmation that the outbreak is indeed Ebola was expected from Geneva soon, although both the authorities and health workers have already been treating it as such.
Congo's government has activated an emergency plan to contain the highly contagious disease. The affected districts have been placed in quarantine, schools and churches are closed and people have been banned from entering or leaving the region.
Officials believe the outbreak was caused by people eating infected bushmeat. Gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys and antelopes began dying in large numbers in the area late last year.
For many villagers in central Africa's forests, bushmeat is a staple, and official calls to refrain from eating it are often ignored by people who cannot afford any alternative.
Ebola killed at least 73 people in Congo and Gabon in an outbreak from October 2001 to February 2002. That epidemic was also linked to the consumption of infected primates.
The disease was named after a river in Congo's neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo where Ebola was discovered in 1976. The worst outbreak was in that country in 1995 when more than 250 people died.
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Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in The Republic of the Congo - Who Update 4
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As of Tue 18 Feb 2003, a total of 73 suspected cases and 59 deaths of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been reported in the districts of Mbomo and Kelle in Cuvette Ouest Region [see: Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (06)
suspected 20030215.0398].
The Government of the Republic of the Congo has officially declared the epidemic as due to Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Laboratory testing carried out at the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF), Gabon has confirmed the diagnosis of Ebola virus in clinical samples.
The government has requested the assistance of WHO in controlling the outbreak. A team including epidemiologists and social mobilization experts from WHO and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network have arrived in the Cuvette Ouest Region. Experts in clinical management will be joining them in the area shortly.
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