Ebola kills two more in DRC

2009-01-07 14:05

Nairobi - Two more people died of Ebola in the central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), bringing to 13 the number of deaths since the highly contagious virus was first detected in September, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) said on Wednesday.

"As of Tuesday January 7, a total of 42 patients have been reported with suspected Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the province of Western Kasai... 13 of these 42 patients suspected of having Ebola have died," a statement said.

The previous count provided by MSF in late December put the toll at 11.

Named after a small Congo river, the disease was found in the town of Kampungu, near Mueka in the Western Kasai province.

Ebola is fatal in about 50-90% of cases, with victims haemorrhaging all over and bleeding from body orifices before dying in the most severe instances.

MSF said it was isolating patients, "mapping" people who have had potential contact with the disease, raising awareness about ways to avoid infection and providing free health care in the affected areas.

The DRC has been hit by Ebola outbreaks three times before. In 1976 it killed nearly 500 people on both sides of the country's border with Sudan.

It struck in 1995, killing 245 people in the western province of Bandundu and, and again in 2007, when 26 cases were confirmed after 187 people died from a host of diseases.

- AFP