Ebola toll reaches 23 deaths among 43 cases

The Ebola toll in the Republic of Congo has reached 23 deaths among 43 cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Thursday from the capital, Brazzaville. Of the 43 cases, 40 have been in Mbomo District and three in Mbanza District of Cuvette Ouest Department, northwestern Congo. Of the 23 deaths, 20 have been in Mbomo and three in Mbanza. Of the 20 people currently suffering from the disease, 15 are being cared for at home while five have been hospitalised. It is believed that 114 people have come into contact with infected persons, in Mbomo, Mbanza and Ewo. The WHO country director for Congo, Dr Adamou Yada, and the Congolese minister of health, Dr Alain Moka, travelled to Mbomo on Tuesday in an effort to encourage health teams on the ground. Meanwhile, an emergency team from WHO headquarters in Geneva is due to arrive on Friday in Brazzaville, to relieve the team currently in place. The new team is expected to reach Cuvette Ouest on Sunday. WHO said the current outbreak originated in Mbanza, some 15 km from Mbomo, when a family consumed a dead wild boar they had found in the forest, with the first death occurring on 16 October. [For more information on the Ebola virus, go to www.cdc.gov]