Ebola Death Toll Keeps Climbing in Congo

March 4, 2003
By Christian Tsoumou

BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - Nearly 90 people have been killedby the Ebola virus in the remote forests of Congo Republic since the latest outbreak of the disease hit the central African country just over a month ago.

Congo's health ministry said on Tuesday that 88 people out of the 97 who have so far contracted the disease have died and another 130 people suspected of contact with Ebola sufferers were under surveillance.

Ebola, which is passed on by infected body fluids, kills between 50 and 90 percent of its victims through massive internal bleeding, depending on the strain of the disease. There is no known cure for Ebola.

The Ebola outbreak surfaced in the Kelle and Mbomo districts near Congo's border with Gabon, some 440 miles north of the country's capital Brazzaville.

The Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday it had recorded 86 deaths from the disease out of 108 cases, of which 94 were in Kelle and the rest in Mbomo.

"The isolation wards and other preventive measures are working very well. So again, we're seeing a slight decline in new cases but (remain) certainly very much on the alert watching for more," WHO spokeswoman Christine McNab told reporters.

"The new case count has somewhat slowed...The WHO and global response unit are still there very much in action, assisting with case detection and case management," she said.

A government and parliamentary delegation was due to visit the afflicted region, known as Cuvette-Ouest. Ebola experts from around the world were also due to meet in Brazzaville on Tuesday to discuss the outbreak.

Scientists believe this outbreak was triggered by the consumption of infected monkey meat. Bush meat is a staple among remote forest communities and deemed a delicacy in many cities.

Primates started dying in large numbers toward the end of last year and Congo launched an appeal to the international community on Monday to help protect central Africa's primates, especially gorillas, who are being decimated by the disease.

"Measures must be taken in the central African sub-region to eradicate this illness. Primates being wiped out by Ebola don't need passports to migrate from one country to another," Forest and Environment Minister Henri Djombo told state radio.

However many villagers believe occult forces are at work. Four teachers accused of casting an evil spell to cause the Ebola outbreak were stoned and beaten to death in February.

Ebola killed 73 people in Congo and Gabon in an epidemic from October 2001 to February 2002.

The disease takes its name from a river in 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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