Posted on 03/10/2003 9:16:42 PM PST by Neuromancer
The death toll from the outbreak of the highly contagious Ebola virus has risen to 98 in the Republic of Congo's Cuvette-Ouest province, near the border with Gabon. The Health Ministry stated in a statement released at the weekend that the total number of diagnosed cases in the outbreak has risen to 135.
The latest outbreak, initially detected on 4 Jan 2003, is believed to have begun when the tribal people of the region some 700 kilometres north of the capital ate infected gorilla meat. There is no known medical cure for Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which can kill up to 90 percent of its victims in the case of particularly virulent strains, such as the current one. But early treatment of associated symptoms can save some lives.
It is worth repeating here that although "consumption" of bushmeat has been suggested as a possible source of the outbreak, Ebola virus would be destroyed by normal cooking procedures. The transmission of infection from non-human primates to humans would occur most likely during hunting, slaughtering, and butchering, when infected fluids from the animals makes contact with cuts or abrasions on the hands of the hunters or cooks. The report of the proceedings of the conference held in Brazzaville last week suggested that human and non-human primates may contract infection from a common source, and that the identity of this reservoir of Ebola virus remains unknown.
Normal for you and me is probably something different than normal for the Congoese.
Brazzaville
In a declaration issued on Thursday, parliamentarians of the Ebola-affected Cuvette-Ouest Region of the Republic of Congo (ROC) accused the Brazzaville government of insufficient action to protect the region's residents from the highly contagious and often-lethal haemorrhagic virus.
The statement followed a delay in the deployment of a mission of parliamentarians and regional government representatives. "It is not normal that a mission of such importance not be quickly dispatched. It is indicative of an intolerable negligence on the part of the government," said one deputy from Mbomo District.
ROC Health Minister Alain Moke, however, disagreed. "Since the declaration of the epidemic in the region, the government has not relented in deploying major amounts of assistance to the affected populations. We had thought that the first priority was to send experts and food aid to the region. It is unfortunate that this was misunderstood by these officials," he said. The government delegation finally left for the Cuvette-Ouest Region on Sunday.
By 8 March, 115 probable cases of Ebola virus were reported in the ROC, with the death toll rising to 97, according to the World Health Organisation - all in the districts of Kelle and Mbomo of Cuvette-Ouest Region.
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