Uganda's ebola death toll 34
2007-12-13 21:05
Kampala - An Ebola epidemic in western Uganda has claimed four more lives, health officials said on Thursday, bringing to 34 the number of deaths since the virulent virus first appeared in September.
Bundibugyo deputy district commissioner Patrick Kawamala said that two patients died on Thursday and two more the previous day.
A total of 116 people are known to have been infected but many more are under observation after coming in close contact with Ebola patients.
However health ministry spokesperson Paul Kaggwa said that no new hospital admissions had been recorded since Tuesday, suggesting that the deadly virus could be contained soon.
Spread by body fluids, the blood-borne disease was named after a small river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it was discovered in 1976. It re-emerged in Sudan later the same year.
- SAPA