WHO: Plague Outbreak in Congo Kills 42
6:42 PM PDT, October 13, 2006
GENEVA -- Pneumonic plague is suspected to have broken out in two areas in Congo, causing a reported 42 deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.
WHO said it had received reports of 626 cases, mostly in the town of Wamba in northern Oriental province.
The reports, which covered July 31 to Oct. 8, were investigated by a team from Congo's provincial health authority, WHO and Doctors Without Borders.
The U.N. health body said final laboratory confirmation of the presence of pneumonic plague was pending, but preliminary results from a rapid diagnosis test in the field found three out of eight samples positive.
Pneumonic plague is spread mainly by fleas, and causes an infection in the lungs that slowly suffocates its victims. If diagnosed in time, it can be treated with antibiotics.
6:42 PM PDT, October 13, 2006
GENEVA -- Pneumonic plague is suspected to have broken out in two areas in Congo, causing a reported 42 deaths, the World Health Organization said Friday.
WHO said it had received reports of 626 cases, mostly in the town of Wamba in northern Oriental province.
The reports, which covered July 31 to Oct. 8, were investigated by a team from Congo's provincial health authority, WHO and Doctors Without Borders.
The U.N. health body said final laboratory confirmation of the presence of pneumonic plague was pending, but preliminary results from a rapid diagnosis test in the field found three out of eight samples positive.
Pneumonic plague is spread mainly by fleas, and causes an infection in the lungs that slowly suffocates its victims. If diagnosed in time, it can be treated with antibiotics.
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