Progress in Marburg fight
2005-05-10 23:09
Lisbon - Angolan health minister Sebastiao Veloso said on Tuesday his country is gaining the upper hand in its battle against the deadly Marburg virus after officials reported no new cases during a 24-hour period for the second time over the past week.
"Everything indicates we are on the road towards controlling the epidemic.
"We are no longer in the same situation which we were in just three weeks ago," he told Lisbon-based Radio Renascenca.
The Ebola-like virus has so far killed 284 people, mostly in the northern province of Uige, since outbreak started six months ago, he said.
It is the world's deadliest outbreak of the rare disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can kill a healthy person in a week.
Veloso said the outbreak would be declared officially under control after 21 consecutive days without any new infections.
The incubation period for the virus, or the amount of time it takes between becoming infected and falling ill, can be 21 days.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), which is working with Angolan officials to contain the outbreak, does not consider outbreaks to be contained until there have been no new infections for a period lasting double the maximum incubation time.
- SAPA