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Congo - Ebola - 183 deaths + 187 suspected cases

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

This article does not mention any "blood" or haemorrhagic symptoms in this current outbreak :confused:

<table class="contentpaneopen"><tbody><tr><td class="contentheading" width="100%"> Unidentified disease kills 103 persons in DR Congo </td> <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> <!-- document.write('<td align="right" width="100%" class="buttonheading">'); document.write(''); document.write(''); document.write(''); document.write('</td>'); //--> </script><td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <script language="javascript">
Kinshasa, DR Congo - A disease still unidentified has killed 103 people since 8 June in Western Kassaï province (DR Congo), according to a WHO study quoted Tuesday by the Congolese Press Agency (ACP).
According to the Congolese Health Minister, Victor Makwenge Kaput, people suffering from the disease show signs of headache, fever as well as abdominal pains.
They die of dehydration following severe diarrhoea and high fever.
Specialists liken the disease, for which 212 cases have been detected in the villages of Kampungu, Makouomo, Kaluamba and Mombo, in the Mweka area, to typhoid fever.
A laboratory diagnosis is vital in order to determine the cause of the disease, said Minister Makwenge, before reassuring that authorities are in the meantime doing everything possible for the adequate management of the cases.
To prevent the spread of the disease, the Health Minister urges people to comply strictly with basic hygiene guidelines, namely to wash one's hands before eating, after relieving oneself and to drink boiled water.
This is not the first time the Congolese populations have been victims of such a disease.
In 1976, a few months after appearing in Sudan, cases of the then unknown Ebola haemorrhagic fever were detected in the former Zaire.
In 1998, the first African cases of the haemorrhagic Marburg fever were also reported in DR Congo.
Kinshasa - 04/09/2007
Panapress



http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/da...e_kills_103_persons_in_dr_congo_200709057897/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

I keep doing internet searches for an update here and find nothing. Unrest in the country no doubt is adding to the problems. Anyone else able to find any data?
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

I can't find anything either. All information regarding this particular situation in the Congo have disappeared.
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

I just found this - dated Sept 5th. There is one thing in this article that's either a very significant change or a mistake - the number of children involved in the outbreak.

Most of the other articles report that 50% of the victims are children. (A few say there are only a few kids)
"Over 50% of cases have been in children under 10 years of age."
"more than half of the cases are children aged 10 years and younger."
"more than 50 per cent of cases involve children under the age of 10."

But this article says...

"More than 50% of the children under 10 years have been affected by the outbreak."

Mystery disease ravages DRC

afrol News, 5 September - A reported outbreak of a mysterious disease has killed more than 60 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), health officials confirmed. All those people, including health workers who had contact with the deaths had also succumbed to the disease.

The origin of the disease with high mortality rate is yet to be established. It has been reported in the Kasai-Occidental. Its outbreak followed the high number of deaths among pigs and chickens in the area's rural villages three months back.

Congolese health authorities could not tell the exact number of the cases or its death toll. But majority of the cases cause fever, headache, diarrhoea or colicky abdominal pain, and vomiting. More than 50% of the children under 10 years have been affected by the outbreak.

Health experts in Congo who team up with their colleagues from World Health Organisation (WHO) have been investigating the outbreak in the reported areas where they have taken clinical samples for laboratory testing.

Besides, the world health body is mobilising support for epidemiological investigation and logistics. Measures to improve hygiene, safe water supply, safe burial practices and effective infection control have since been under way.

The lack of masks for hospital workers has exposed them to the disease. A local nurse who was taking care of infected patients in a local hospital died of the mysterious outbreak.

Some experts linked the outbreak to hemorrhagic fever which might have been transmitted during the process of washing death bodies and funerals because many people, including a local chief, who attended a recent funeral died from fever and dehydration.

However, medical experts warned that they are still investigating the disease. As such, it will be too early to connect the new outbreak to hemorrhagic fever.

http://www.afrol.com/articles/26641
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease


Congo Officials Confirm Ebola Outbreak

Lab results have confirmed a deadly illness outbreak in southeastern Congo as Ebola fever, officials said Monday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and another lab in Gabon confirmed the disease as a hemorrhagic fever, and specifically as Ebola, Health Minister Makwenge Kaput said on national television. More than 100 people have died of illness in the affected region since late August.

Makwenge did not say whether the outbreak had been contained.

Medical inspectors had previously said that people began dying after high-profile funerals of two village chiefs in the region where relatives usually wash the bodies of the deceased by hand.

In the past, Congo has seen large outbreaks of Marburg and Ebola, both hemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses that, in severe cases, attack the central nervous system and cause bleeding from the eyes, ears and other parts of the body.

By the end of August, four villages had been affected and 217 people had come down with the illness, including 103 who died. About 140,000 people live in the Mweka area.

Congo's last major Ebola outbreak struck in Kikwit in 1995, killing 245 people. Kikwit is about 185 miles from the site of the current purported outbreak.

http://tinyurl.com/23kj5t

Is it ok to post a tinyurl address if the original addresses are long? If not, I will post the original.

Were there descriptions of bleeding in the outbreak? I didn't see any, but maybe I missed it.
 
There isn't always bleeding.

There isn't always bleeding.

According to the WHO and the CDC every case of ebola does NOT include bleeding. That makes it a bit more difficult, doesn't it?..

The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Aurora, welcome to FT.
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

This article from the Ap says 400 ill since late august with 160 dead.

Congo Officials Confirm Ebola Outbreak

53 minutes KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Lab results have confirmed a deadly illness outbreak in southeastern Congo as Ebola fever, officials said Monday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and another lab in Gabon confirmed the disease as a hemorrhagic fever, and specifically as Ebola, Health Minister Makwenge Kaput said on national television.
More than 160 people have died of the illness in the affected region since late August and nearly 400 have been infected, said Jean-Constatin Kanow, the chief medical inspector for the province.
He said the infections were mostly in two areas, Mweka and Luebo, and the majority of the deaths ocurred at the beginning of the outbreak.
"The number of sick continues to climb, but the deaths are decreasing because they are being taken care of by medical teams on the ground," Kanow said.
Makwenge did not say whether the outbreak had been contained.
Medical inspectors had previously said that people began dying after high-profile funerals of two village chiefs in the region where relatives usually wash the bodies of the deceased by hand.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person, or objects that have been contaminated with infected secretions. It is not known where the initial infection came from, though medical researchers say it is likely from contact with an infected animal.
In the past, Congo has seen large outbreaks of Marburg and Ebola, both hemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses that, in severe cases, attack the central nervous system and cause bleeding from the eyes, ears and other parts of the body.
By the end of August, four villages had been affected and 217 people had come down with the illness, including 103 who died. About 140,000 people live in the Mweka area.
Congo's last major Ebola outbreak struck in Kikwit in 1995, killing 245 people. Kikwit is about 185 miles from the site of the current purported outbreak.:yinyang: I went through some africa sites but could find nothing else yet, so I googled and this came up ,same story but different numbers.Yes, welome Aurora and good find! :tiphat: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hSh4nwue7JbWAZH8ZfL5UauX3vWw
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!-- var related = new RelatedNews(getElement('body'), getElement('relatednews-section'), "http://news.google.com/news", 'en_US', "http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hSh4nwue7JbWAZH8ZfL5UauX3vWw"); //--> </SCRIPT>
 
Re: There isn't always bleeding.

Re: There isn't always bleeding.

aurora said:
According to the WHO and the CDC every case of ebola does NOT include bleeding. That makes it a bit more difficult, doesn't it?..

The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
Click to expand...


From the link posted by aurora, WHO has tabulated 1848 human cases of Ebola through 2004. CFR = 70% :eek:
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

with that high of CFR does it burn itself out? Is that way it appears every few years and then goes back underground?
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Where Does Ebola Hide Between Epidemics?
Stefan Lovgren
for National Geographic News

February 19, 2003

When villagers in the remote jungles of the Republic of Congo began falling ill last month, scientists quickly suspected Ebola. The virus had been confirmed in tests on the bodies of animals found dead in surrounding forests, and bush meat is a staple among the local population.
Knowing how people may initially have contracted the virus has given medical experts a jumpstart on the epidemic, which has so far killed at least 64 people. But the larger question remains. Where does the deadly Ebola virus hide between outbreaks?
"Primates die from Ebola," just like humans, said Dick Thompson, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, which has sent a team of experts to the region. "The virus must live somewhere else in the environment."
The search for a natural host has eluded scientists ever since the first Ebola epidemics in 1976. The quest is a catch-22. While an outbreak offers the best opportunity to find the natural reservoir, the priority for virus hunters is to contain the epidemic. In the process, the trail often goes cold because the virus kills so swiftly it covers its tracks.
Ebola is one of the most contagious viruses known to man. A simple handshake can transmit the disease. Depending on the strain, Ebola kills anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of its victims through massive internal bleeding. Worst of all, there is no cure.
Finding out where the virus is hiding between outbreaks would help predict how often it will strike and could aid in the adoption of safety measures. The genetic variability of the virus in its natural host may help design a vaccine.

Immune to Ebola
There has long been speculation among scientists that bats are the natural reservoir for Ebola. In scientific experiments, researchers have injected bats with the Ebola virus, and the bats have survived. "You find bats in almost every outbreak," said Bob Swanepoel, head of the Special Pathogens Division at South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
Bats were found in the roof of a Sudanese cotton factory where six people died in a 1976 epidemic. A Danish student died of Ebola after visiting a bat-infested cave in Kenya. At least 60 miners in northeastern Congo died from Marburg, an Ebola-related virus that may share Ebola's natural reservoir, during a 1999 outbreak. Six of the seven mining quarries were open, the seventh was located underground with an estimated 30,000 bats living in it. All of the miners who contracted the disease worked in the underground mine.
Swanepoel has collected bats during several Ebola and Marburg outbreaks. "We have seen evidence of Ebola in bats," he said. "But we have never been able to isolate the virus." He believes only a fraction of the bats may host the virus. Catching the right specimens is almost impossible.

Transmitting the Virus
The latest outbreak began after researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society reported a massive decline in ape populations in the Lossi Gorilla Sanctuary in northern Republic of Congo. In mid-December, scientists from the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville (CIRMF) in neighboring Gabon collected samples from four gorilla and two chimpanzee carcasses and confirmed the presence of Ebola in all six cases.
Even without lab confirmation on the human deaths, scientists are treating this epidemic as an Ebola outbreak. "The clinical presentation of the cases, the high death rates and confirmed reports of primate deaths which tested positive for Ebola all point in that direction," said the WHO's Thompson.
The first victim, or "index case," is believed to have eaten or come in contact with an infected animal. An Ebola epidemic in the same region in 2001, which killed 73 people, was also linked to people eating infected primates. After the initial infection, the virus is usually transmitted from human to human.
Containing the epidemic is particularly difficult because the affected villages are tucked into impenetrable forests about 440 miles (710 kilometers) from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. Cordoning off the area is impossible. Cultural practices also complicate efforts. Religious rites, for example, dictate that family members wash the body of a dead person before burial.
While past outbreaks have been concentrated in, say, a village, the current epidemic is "multi-centric," or spread over a vast area. This suggests that the natural host for Ebola could also be active over a large area. Scientists have speculated that insects, or maybe birds, could carry the virus.

New Research
In December, a Purdue University science team presented new research that links Ebola with birds. According to the study, the outer protein shell of filoviruses, such as Ebola, have a biochemical structure similar to retroviruses carried by birds, making a common evolutionary origin more likely.
"There can be no doubt now that an ancestral virus had a shell that evolved to become the shells of the Ebola virus and bird retroviruses," said David Sanders, the professor who headed the research team.
Sanders stresses that his discovery does not prove that birds are the natural reservoir for Ebola. But it makes them more plausible hosts. The prospect of migratory birds carrying Ebola has obvious health implications.
Some scientists already worry that Ebola could mutate and become airborne. Recent outbreaks have suggested it can evolve on its own. All the Ebola subtypes have shown the ability to be spread through airborne particles under research conditions. One strand, Ebola-Reston, may have been transmitted from monkey to monkey through the air in a Virginia science lab. So far there have been no similar transmissions involving humans.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0219_030219_ebolaorigin.html
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

aurora said:
Is it ok to post a tinyurl address if the original addresses are long? If not, I will post the original.

Were there descriptions of bleeding in the outbreak? I didn't see any, but maybe I missed it.
Click to expand...

Tinyurl's are fine with me.

There was reference to hemorrhagic symptoms in the ProMed report in my post #10. I questioned the discrepencies in the report in post #19.

Sure am glad they identified the disease - would have preferred it not be Ebola, but at least they have a diagnosis to work with.
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

<table summary=""><tbody><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">
Archive Number</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">20070910.2996</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Published Date</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">10-SEP-2007</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Subject</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">PRO/AH/EDR> Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR</td></tr> </tbody></table>
EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - CONGO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
****************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

[1]
Date: Mon 10 Sep 2007
Source: Guardian Unlimited [edited]
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6911479,00.html>


KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - Lab results have confirmed a deadly illness
outbreak in southeastern Congo as Ebola fever, officials said Monday
[10 Sep 2007].

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and another lab in Gabon
confirmed the disease as a hemorrhagic fever, and specifically as
Ebola, Health Minister Makwenge Kaput said on national television.
More than 100 people have died of illness in the affected region
since late August [2007].


--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

******
[2]
Date: 10 Sep 2007
Source: Yahoo News Canadian Press [edited]
<http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070910/world/congo_ebola>


Congo confirms Ebola outbreak; more than 100 have died since late August [2007]
---------------------
Lab results have confirmed a deadly illness outbreak in southeastern
Congo is Ebola fever.

Congo Health Minister Makwenge Kaput says the U-S Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta and another lab in Gabon have
confirmed the disease as a hemorrhagic fever and specifically Ebola.

Provincial chief medical inspector Jean-Constatin Kanow says more
than 160 people have died of the illness in the affected region since
late August [2007] and nearly 400 have been infected.

He says the infections are mostly in 2 areas, Mweka and Luebo and the
majority of the deaths occurred at the beginning of the outbreak.

Makwenge did not say whether the outbreak has been contained.

Spokesperson Kelly Keith confirms hemorrhagic fever experts at
Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg have been
following the situation and are prepared to deploy a team to the area
if requested.

Experts from the Winnipeg laboratory - which is part of the Public
Health Agency of Canada - are often tapped by the World Health
Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network to help
contain these types of outbreaks.

The special pathogens team has developed a portable lab that can be
safely operated in remote locations with few resources. Being able to
accurately identify cases early has been critical to containment
efforts, because the initial symptoms of hemorrhagic fevers are
similar to those of other diseases which commonly strike in affected areas.

Medical inspectors had previously said people began dying after
high-profile funerals of 2 village chiefs in the region where
relatives usually wash the bodies of the deceased by hand.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with the blood or secretions
of an infected person, or objects that have been contaminated with
infected secretions. It is not known where the initial infection came
from, though medical researchers say it is likely from contact with
an infected animal.

In the past, Congo has seen large outbreaks of Marburg and Ebola,
both hemorrhagic fevers caused by viruses that, in severe cases,
attack the central nervous system and cause bleeding from the eyes,
ears and other parts of the body.

By the end of August [2007], 4 villages had been affected and 217
people had come down with the illness, including 103 who died. About
140 000 people live in the Mweka area.

Congo's last major Ebola outbreak struck in Kikwit in 1995, killing
245 people. Kikwit is about 300 kilomertres from the site of the
current purported outbreak.

--
Communicated by:
Pierre Bigras
<pierre-bigras@sympatico.ca>

[Ebola virus, a filovirus, has one of the highest case fatalities (up
to 80 percent) of any viral disease except rabies. ProMED-mail
requests further information about the actual numbers of people
infected and fatalities, as well as the specific location and
circumstances of the outbreak in the southeastern part of the
DRC. One hopes that this is not part of the eastern DRC that has
been torn by civil strife and violence, preventing intervention that
would further describe the outbreak and work with local inhabitants
to prevent spread from infected individuals to those in contact,
through exposure to bodily fluids.

A map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be accessed
at: <http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511809/Congo_(DRC).html> - Mod. TY]

[It is curious that according to the above mentioned newswire, the
case fatality rate (CFR) of this outbreak seems to be fairly low for
Ebola hemorrhagic fever with the report of 103 deaths out of 217
cases (CFR 47.5 percent) by the end of August, and now approximately
160 deaths and 400 cases (CFR 40 percent). One is curious to know
the true numbers of cases and deaths, and if information on the viral
strain is available. For a good summary of prior outbreaks of Ebola
hemorrhagic fever outbreaks see the WHO Ebola outbreak chronology
table available at:
<http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/index1.html>.
Outbreaks of Ebola-Sudan virus have had lower CFRs as a rule than
Ebola-Zaire virus associated outbreaks.

For a map of the DRC highlighting urban areas that includes the 2
above mentioned affected areas of Mweka and Luebo, see
<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMap...24F/$File/monuc_POP_cod090505.pdf?OpenElement>
(the areas are visible if resolution of the map is increased. One
can also see where they are in relation to Kikwit where the above
mentioned outbreak occurred in 1995. - Mod.MPP]

[see also:
Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR (Kasai Occidental): WHO, RFI 20070901.2882
Viral hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (Kasai Occidental): susp. 20070829.2837
2006
----
Ebola, primates - Congo Rep.: 20061208.3462
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon/Congo Rep: prediction 20061119.3308
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp. 20060315.0806
2005
----
Ebola virus, bats - Central Africa 20051201.3467
Ebola Zaire virus - Africa: wave-like spread 20051029.3158
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (07) 20050622.1756
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. 20050520.1382
Undiagnosed deaths - Congo Rep. (04): Ebola confirmed 20050518.1358
Undiagnosed deaths - Congo Rep. (03): Ebola susp 20050514.1321
Ebola hemorrhagic fever, wildlife - Gabon/Congo Rep. 20050215.0511
2004
----
Ebola, primates - Congo Rep.: susp. 20040827.2400
2003
----
Ebola hemorrhagic fever, apes - Congo Rep. (04) 20030404.0824
Ebola hemorrhagic fever, apes - Congo Rep. (03) 20030321.0705
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (17) 20030310.0587
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (16) 20030307.0565
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (15) 20030304.0543
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep. (12) 20030227.0489
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep: suspected 20030205.0315
2002
----
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon: suspected 20020624.4593
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo Rep: confirmed 20020613.4492
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon/Congo Rep (05) 20020107.3189
2001
----
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon: dead wildlife (03) 20011220.3079
Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Gabon: dead wildlife 20011216.3041
Viral hemorrhagic fever, suspected - Congo, DR (03) 20011210.2991
..................mpp/ty/mpp

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - CONGO DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

hat tip Murphies :tiphat: http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN135572.html

Ebola outbreak confirmed in Congo, WHO sending teams

Tue 11 Sep 2007, 8:53 GMT
GENEVA (Reuters) - An outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever, a deadly disease for which there is no treatment, has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Samples from five people have tested positive for the Ebola virus in the southern province of Kasai Occidental, where authorities have reported some 120 deaths among 300 sick people in the past four months, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

Not all these deaths are necessarily due to Ebola however. Other diseases are also suspected to be ravaging the remote region, as some patients have responded to treatment with antibiotics, indicating Shigella disease which is borne by contaminated food or water, he said.

"We know there are five cases confirmed as Ebola. We still believe other things are going on," Hartl said. "We have to get more people on the ground in the area to investigate."

No cases have been reported in the east of the country where heavy fighting in recent weeks between government forces and rebels forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

Ebola, which causes death in 50 to 90 percent of cases, is transmitted by contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons. Symptoms begin with fever and muscle pain, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases bleeding from orifices.

The virus' natural reservoir seems to reside in African rain forests and in areas of the Western Pacific, according to the United Nations health agency. Kasai is east of Kikwit, the site of a major Ebola outbreak in the former Zaire in 1995, which killed 250 among 315 people.

The samples were tested at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in a laboratory in Gabon, according to Hartl. The WHO on Tuesday activated its Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network, known as GOARN, asking partner health organisations including the Atlanta-based CDC to send epidemiologists and other experts, he said.

"The WHO is in the process now of coordinating international teams to go into the area," Hartl said. It is also important to warn communities that Ebola can be transmitted at burial ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased, he said.

"We have to identify cases and isolate cases, separating Shigella patients from Ebola," Hartl added.
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=74229

INSHASA, 11 September 2007 (IRIN) - Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have identified a fever outbreak that has claimed at least 167 lives in the southern province of Kasai Occidental as Ebola.

"The results from the referral laboratory in Franceville in Gabon and the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] in Atlanta in the United States confirmed the diagnosis of the haemorrhagic viral Ebola fever," health minister Victor Makwenge Kaput said on national television on 10 September.

The Mweka and Luebo health zones were the worst affected by the fever epidemic over the past two months, according to the provincial health inspector, Jean-Constatin Kanow. Mweka has an estimated population of 140,511.

According to Kanow, there have been at least 395 cases, including the fatalities.

"This epidemic evolved without us knowing its exact cause," Makwenge said. The symptoms of those infected led to the suspicion of haemorrhagic fever.

The viral fever is spread through contact with infected people, who initially present with fever, headache, vomiting, colicky abdominal pain, and bloody diarrhoea, followed by severe dehydration and death, Kanow said.

"The symptoms last between five and seven days," he added.

People in the province, as in other parts of the country, are at further risk of contracting the fever due to the lack of observance of safe practices in the handling and disposal of dead bodies.

Two of the victims of the latest outbreak were pastors who came into contact with infected patients in their churches, according to Kanow.

The fever was first recognised on 8 June after the deaths of two village chiefs. Subsequently, all those who assisted in the burial also died, Kanow said.

According to Makwenge, health teams had been mobilised at the local, national, and international level to help deal with the outbreak.

The number of infected persons had increased, but deaths had decreased due to interventions by teams from the health ministry and the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) in affected areas.

"We have asked the WHO to help us in coordinating the response to the epidemic," Makwenge said. He also appealed for calm and adherence to the recommendations of the health teams deployed in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the government has also put in place measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic to other localities.

According to the government spokesperson, Toussaint Tshilobo, a quarantine had been imposed in the affected areas to prevent the spread of the disease.

The DRC has in the past experienced severe Ebola epidemics - in 1976 in Yambuku in Orientale province, in Kikwit, Bandundu, in 1995 where at least 250 deaths were reported, and in Watsa, Orientale, in 1999.
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/vhf/news/sep1107ebola-jw.html

Ebola outbreak confirmed in Congo

Sep 11, 2007 (CIDRAP News) ? Five cases of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever have been confirmed in a 3-month-old disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but another disease may account for some cases in the outbreak, according to news services.

Congolese Health Minister Makwenge Kaput said yesterday that tests in Franceville, Gabon, and at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed the Ebola diagnosis, according to a report from the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

The World Health Organization (WHO) said five samples tested positive and tests on 40 more samples were pending, according to an Associated Press (AP) report published today.

At least 395 cases and 167 deaths have been reported in the outbreak in Kasai Occidental province, provincial health inspector Jean-Constantin Kanow reported in the IRIN story.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said some patients in the outbreak have reported cholera-like symptoms and responded well to ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic, which would not work against a viral disease like Ebola, according to a New York Times story today. He said those patients may have contracted Shigella (bacterial) infections.

"There's no way we can be sure at this point how many cases are Shigella and how many are Ebola," Hartl told the AP.

The WHO issued an alert today urging more doctors to travel to the country to fight the outbreak, according to the AP. Hartl told the Times that the first WHO teams involved in the effort arrived Sep 9 with protective equipment.

Kanow said most of the cases were in the Mweka and Luebo districts and that most of the deaths occurred early in the outbreak, according to the AP. The affected area is about 430 miles southeast of Kinshasa, the Congolese capital.

The outbreak was first recognized on Jun 8 after two village chiefs died, according to the IRIN report. All those who assisted in burying the chiefs died, said Kanow.

According to the Times report, CDC officials said six or seven villages were affected by the outbreak, and about 120 of 300 affected people died. Most of those who died were between the ages of 18 and 45 and survived only 4 or 5 days after the first symptoms, the story said.

The WHO had posted an online notice about the Congo outbreak on Aug 31, calling it an unknown illness with high mortality. The statement said more than 50% of the patients were children younger than 10.

Ebola was first recognized in the DRC (then known as Zaire) in 1976, with an outbreak in Yambuku, Orientale province. Since then, the country has had outbreaks in Kikwit, Bandundu province, in 1995, and in Watsa, Orientale province, in 1999, according to the IRIN report.

Ebola outbreaks occurred in the fall of 2003 and in the spring of 2005 in the DRC's immediate western neighbor, the Republic of the Congo.

Ebola is a highly contagious virus that is lethal in about 50% to 90% of cases. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, according to the CDC. Some patients have both internal and external bleeding. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for the disease.

See also:
Aug 31 WHO statement on Congo outbreak
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_08_31a/en/index.html
CDC fact sheet on Ebola
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/Fact_Sheets/Ebola_Fact_Booklet.pdf
CIDRAP overview of viral hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/vhf/biofacts/vhffactsheet.html#ClinEbola
May 18, 2005, CIDRAP News story "Ebola found in Congo Republic outbreak"
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Thank you for the kind welcome!

There were a few more developments today...

Congo-Kinshasa: Outbreak in Kasai Occidental Confirmed As Ebola

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have identified a fever outbreak that has claimed at least 167 lives in the southern province of Kasai Occidental as Ebola. [snip]

Two of the victims of the latest outbreak were pastors who came into contact with infected patients in their churches, according to Kanow.[snip]

"We have asked the WHO to help us in coordinating the response to the epidemic," Makwenge said. He also appealed for calm and adherence to the recommendations of the health teams deployed in the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the government has also put in place measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic to other localities.

According to the government spokesperson, Toussaint Tshilobo, a quarantine had been imposed in the affected areas to prevent the spread of the disease.

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]

http://allafrica.com/stories/200709110706.html

I did find that they used quarantine in previous outbreaks so perhaps this isn't terribly significant.

There was a post from a scientist in 2003 (which I can't find at the moment) describing some of the problems of quarantine. During an outbreak around 3,000 people who were trying to flee the infected area were at the final checkpoint (I think we might call it a road block.) They were there for days with no food and little water - spreading the virus the entire time.

_________________
"We know what you know, and we know when you knew it"
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Congo slaps quarantine on Ebola outbreak area
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> Tue Sep 11, 10:27 AM ET


<!-- end storyhdr -->KINSHASA (Reuters) - Authorities placed two towns in southern Democratic Republic of Congo in quarantine on Tuesday to contain an outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a deadly disease for which there is no treatment. Health authorities in Congo's southern province of Kasai Occidental had reported more than 160 deaths among 352 sick people in the past four months due to a mystery fever.


Five samples sent to a laboratory in Gabon and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus, Health Minister Victor Makuenge Kaput said late on Monday.
"Precautions have been taken to prevent the epidemic from spreading," he told state television.
Information Minister Toussaint Tshilombo told Reuters on Tuesday the government had imposed quarantine on the areas around Mweka and Luebo to prevent the spread of the disease.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization in Geneva said it was not clear whether all the deaths had been caused by Ebola as other diseases were also thought to be rife in area.
Some patients had responded to treatment with antibiotics, suggesting Shigella disease which is borne by contaminated food or water, Gregory Hartl said.
"We know there are five cases confirmed as Ebola. We still believe other things are going on. We have to get more people on the ground in the area to investigate."
FEVER AND MUSCLE PAIN
Ebola, which causes death in 50 to 90 percent of cases, is transmitted by contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
Symptoms begin with fever and muscle pain, followed by vomiting, diarrhea and in some cases bleeding from orifices.
The virus's natural reservoir seems to reside in African rain forests and in areas of the Western Pacific, according to the United Nations health agency.
Makuenge urged the population to take precautions, such as washing hands frequently and avoiding contact with infected patients.
No cases have been reported in the east of the country, where recent heavy fighting between government forces and rebels forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
Kasai is east of Kikwit, site of a major Ebola outbreak in the former Zaire in 1995 which killed 250 of 315 sufferers.
The WHO on Tuesday activated its Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network, known as GOARN, asking partner health organizations, including the Atlanta-based CDC, to send epidemiologists and other experts, Hartl said.
"The WHO is in the process now of coordinating international teams to go into the area," he said.

It is also important to warn communities that Ebola can be transmitted at burial ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased, he added.
"We have to identify cases and isolate cases, separating Shigella patients from Ebola," Hartl added. (Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva):tiphat: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070911/sc_nm/congo_democratic_ebola_dc_1
 
Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

Re: 100 dead Congo hemorrhagic fever-WHO Experts In Congo To Study Mysterious Disease

<TABLE class=story-top cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Ebola Virus Outbreak In DR Congo Claims 160 Lives

Wednesday, 12 September 2007, 11:30 am
Press Release: United Nations </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!--first blockquote gone!-->

Ebola virus outbreak in central DR Congo claims 160 lives - UN health agency


At least 160 people have died in an outbreak of the highly lethal haemorrhagic Ebola virus in the centre of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today, announcing that it is rushing medical and supplies to the region to try to contain the disease. Laboratory analysis conducted in Gabon and the United States on samples taken from cases in the outbreak have confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus, which causes death in 50 to 90 per cent of cases.

WHO said some of the samples also show the presence of a type of dysentery, which is complicating the treatment of victims, who are concentrated in the Mweka and Lwebo areas of DRC's Kasai Occidental province.
So far there have been 372 confirmed cases and 166 deaths, according to WHO, while Radio Okapi - which is part-operated by the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUC) - reported today that there have been 168 deaths.
DRC health ministry officials are leading the response to the outbreak, but WHO said it was providing staff, supplies and equipment to the areas affected and it was also mobilizing a team of national and international experts to implement strategies to try to limit the size of the outbreak.
The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons or animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys and antelopes, and it has an incubation period of two to 21 days.
Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating sufferers because of the lack of adequate infection control precautions in affected countries in Central Africa. Burial ceremonies also can play a role in transmitting the virus when mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person.
Sufferers can experience fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headaches and sore throats, as well as vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes and impaired kidney and liver function. In the most severe cases, the virus can lead to both external and internal bleeding. WHO said there is no indication yet of any need to impose trade or travel restrictions with the DRC as a result of the outbreak.:tiphat: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0709/S00275.htm
 
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