Ebola outbreak kills 32
26mar02
THE death toll from an outbreak of Ebola fever in northwest Congo's Cuvette region, on the Gabonese border, has risen to 32 over the past four months, according to a health ministry official.
The worst-hit area is the district of Mbomo, about 800km from the capital Brazzaville, where 18 out of the 32 people diagnosed with the disease have already died.
In the Kelle district, south of Mbomo, 14 people have died after contracting the disease.
Ebola is one of the most virulent diseases known and is spread through contact with body fluids, including saliva.
The early symptoms are similar to those of flu, but it can lead to massive haemorrhaging.
It also has no known cure, although patients can survive if the symptoms are treated early.
The first cases in Congo were discovered last November.
The disease is believed to have spread from neighbouring Gabon, where cases were diagnosed a month earlier.
In northeastern Gabon, the Ebola toll has reached 53, but the disease remains confined to one densely forested province, the Gabonese health ministry said on Friday.
Doctor Stanislas Ebata-Mongo, of the Congolese health ministry, said there were some encouraging signs.
"In the Mbomo district, the epidemic has been controlled.
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