Announcement

**alert** · June 29, 2010, 12:56 PM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths

There has not been a confirmed human Ebola or Marburg infection since January 1, 2009. These cases have the right exposure and symptoms. If they are confirmed, they will be the first such cases in nearly 18 months.

**alert** · June 29, 2010, 05:10 PM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths

With respect to the previous outbreak (red text), it is not true that there was a discarded outbreak; rather there was an old recycled report that generated an errant post.

Page not found - ProMED-mail

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=2400:1001:1351931900886532::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,83441

Archive Number 20100629.2170
Published Date 29-JUN-2010
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Hemorrhagic fever - Republic of Congo: susp

HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - REPUBLIC OF CONGO: SUSPECTED
************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Tue 29 Jun 2010
Source: World Health Organization (WHO), CSR, Disease Outbreak News [edited]
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_06_29/en/index.html>

Suspected acute haemorrhagic fever in the Republic of the Congo
---------------------------------------------------------------
The World Health Organization (WHO) has received preliminary reports of 5
suspected cases, including 3 deaths, with acute haemorrhagic fever from
Mokouangonda, an isolated forest village of about 100 inhabitants in Mokoke
district, Region of Sangha, in northern Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).

The 3 deaths were among male forest hunters from Mokouangonda who presented
similar symptoms of epistaxis (nose bleeds), bloody diarrhoea, cough, and
fever prior to deaths after a 1-2 week long hunting expedition in the
Odzala National Park.

A joint Ministry of Health (MoH) and WHO team is currently in the field to
assess the situation and to collect clinical samples for diagnosis. These
will be tested by the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de
Franceville (CIRMF) Gabon, and Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale a
Kinshasa, DRC.

A Regional Coordination Committee to contain the outbreak has been
established in Ouesso, Sangha Region, under the Direction Generale de la
Sante, assisted by WHO and other international partners including the
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Congo and the Museum National
d'Histoire Naturelle in France. Measures to respond to the disease outbreak
including epidemiological investigation, social mobilization, and infection
control are being implemented in the area.

--
communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Marianne Hopp

[Further information is awaited. The suspicion must be that this may be an
outbreak of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever which has afflicted neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo in recent years, although the most recent
report there in 2009 was not confirmed (see references below).

A map of the Republic of Congo, showing the location of Sangha region can
be accessed at <http://www.mapsofworld.com/republic-of-congo/>. The
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Republic of Congo is available at
<http://healthmap.org/r/01x0>. - Mod.CP]

[see also:
2009
---
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo, DR (09): (KO) NOT 20091123.4029
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (08): (KS) conf. 20091113.3927
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (07): (KS) 20090202.0462
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (06): (KS) 20090124.0315
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (05): (KS) 20090115.0173
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (04): (KS) 20090114.0159
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (03): (KS) 20090111.0113
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (02): (KS) 20090108.0082
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: (KS), WHO 20090102.0013
2008
---
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (03): (KS) 20081231.4133
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (02): (KS) 20081229.4093
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: (KS), WHO 20081227.4086]

...................cp/ejp/sh

**alert** · July 2, 2010, 10:23 AM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths

Hat-tip ironorehopper. Perhaps the sample was not good enough (if the case was isolated on June 19, it looks like the sample which would have been taken around the 28th would be at day 9-10 of illness already), or perhaps this outbreak is not due to VHF, or perhaps a previously undiscovered VHF agent is involved. There are many such VHF alarms that are actually caused by other diseases, although they usually don't have such an exposure history.

Notably, we seem to have lost a case, as this post mentions one surviving negative case, and three deceased, for a total of four, whereas the original post mentioned five cases.

While they continue to monitor all contacts, we are already at 13 days since the last exposure, with (apparently) no symptoms so far.

404

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_07_02a/en/index.html

Erreur 404

Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo update
2 July 2010 -- Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases in Sangha Region, Republic of Congo, tested negative for several viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Arenavirus). Additional laboratory investigations are ongoing. The tests were carried out by the Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in Gabon. Samples from the other three suspected fatal cases could not be obtained .

The negative laboratory findings from this suspected case do not exclude that an acute haemorrhagic fever outbreak has occurred, or is still ongoing. The Ministry of Health, WHO and other partners continue to strengthen surveillance activities in humans and the wild life sector, and to implement control measures including active case search, infection control, and social mobilization.

More than 40 people who have had direct contact with the suspected cases will continue to be monitored for a period of 21 days from the last date of their exposure (19 June).

**tetano** · July 5, 2010, 01:07 AM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths - Sangha

Update on suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in Republic of the Congo
5. July 2010 00:17

Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases in Sangha Region, Republic of Congo, tested negative for several viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Arenavirus).

Additional laboratory investigations are ongoing. The tests were carried out by the Centre International de Recherches M?dicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in Gabon. Samples from the other three suspected fatal cases could not be obtained .

The negative laboratory findings from this suspected case do not exclude that an acute haemorrhagic fever outbreak has occurred, or is still ongoing. The Ministry of Health, WHO and other partners continue to strengthen surveillance activities in humans and the wild life sector, and to implement control measures including active case search, infection control, and social mobilization.

More than 40 people who have had direct contact with the suspected cases will continue to be monitored for a period of 21 days from the last date of their exposure (19 June).

Update on suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in Republic of the Congo

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100705/Update-on-suspected-Acute-Haemorrhagic-Fever-in-Republic-of-the-Congo.aspx

Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases in Sangha Region, Republic of Congo, tested negative for several viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Arenavirus).

**Treyfish** · July 5, 2010, 09:22 AM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths - Sangha

Anti-Ebola in Congo after the "suspects" were negative
BRAZZAVILLE - A system of "retaliation" against Ebola has been deployed in the north-west of Congo after the discovery of five cases of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever but were negative, told AFP Monday Health concordant sources.

Three deaths were recorded among these "five suspected cases of acute haemorrhagic fever" identified in the village of Mokouangonda in the district Mok?ko (Sangha region, north-west), according to a statement released last week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and was confirmed to AFP by the Director of Health of the Congo, Prof Alexis Elira Dokekias.

The deceased had nosebleeds, bloody diarrhea, cough and fever - symptoms of acute haemorrhagic fever - but the samples taken indicated he was not Ebola, according to Professor Elira Dokekias. The International Centre for Medical Research (CIRMF), Gabon, who examined the samples, also told AFP they had been "negative".

"There is no clinical feature of Ebola. We took all measures of response as if it is Ebola, because it happens close to the Odzala National Park" where cases Ebola have been recorded in the past but also in gorillas, in 2003, humans with death, "said Professor Elira Dokekias.

http://www.romandie.com/ats/news/100...5.mlcroks2.asp

**alert** · July 6, 2010, 05:51 PM

Re: WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths - Sangha

And now it looks like VHF has been ruled out. Other etiologies that could be responsible (especially if the hunters did not actually have contact with animals as below) include plague, anthrax, yellow fever, spotted fever, typhoid, malaria, and various poisonings, just to name a few.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=nw20100705222347447C690378&set_id=

Ebola response plan launched in Congo
July 06 2010 at 12:16AM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

Brazzaville - Congo authorities have activated Ebola response measures after five people were suspected to have caught the deadly haemorrhagic fever but tested negative, health officials told reporters on Monday.

The World Health Organisation announced last week that three of five people in the north-east of the Congo Republic who displayed symptoms of Ebola, including bleeding from the nose and a high fever, had died.

The dead were men from an isolated forest village, Mokouangonda, and had fallen ill after returning from a hunting expedition in the Odzala National Park, it said.

Cases of Ebola have been registered in the park in gorillas, but also in humans in 2003.
Continues Below ↓

Congo Director of Health Alexis Elira Dokekias confirmed the three deaths to AFP, but said none of the five suspected cases had tested positive for acute haemorrhagic fever.

"For the moment, all the samples taken have come back negative," he told reporters. "There are no clinical characteristics of Ebola fever."

"We have taken response measures as if it were Ebola fever because it is not far from the Odzala National Park," Elira Dokekias added.

None of the people suspected to have the disease had contact with animals, he said.

The WHO said that response measures being implemented in the area included epidemiological investigations and infection control.

The International Centre of Medical Research at Franceville in neighbouring Gabon, which examined the samples, told reporters separately they were negative.

"If it is negative, it is because it is not acute haemmorraghic fever," said the centre's communication official, Norbert Mouyabi.

A WHO representative in the Congo capital Brazzaville said its own team sent to the area, in the north-western Shanga region, had reached the same conclusion.

Ebola is one of a family of so-called filoviruses, which cause haemorrhagic fever, a rare but highly lethal disease in which the patient can bleed to death, sometimes from the mouth, ears and eyes.

According to the WHO, of about 1 850 people documented to have had the disease since it first appeared in Africa in 1976, about 1 200 died.

There is no vaccine or effective treatment, with patients forced into strict isolation and medical staff working with them required to wear full protection, including surgical gloves and masks. - Sapa-AFP

Announcement

WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths - Sangha

WHO - Suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in the Republic of the Congo (June 29 2010, edited): Five cases, three deaths - Sangha

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment