Preliminary laboratory tests on six persons infected with an Ebola-like disease in Bunia, northeastern DRC have turned out to be negative for the haemorrhagic fever, the WHO representative in Uganda, Dr Oladipo Walker, told IRIN on Friday. “As far as we know, preliminary tests done have turned out negative. We are still awaiting confirmation results,” he said. Five of the six persons infected with the disease have died. “We have put up surveillance around the area to make sure it does not spill over to the Ugandan side,” he added.
On Thursday, the Roman Catholic missionary news agency (MISNA) quoted a Congolese doctor, Lutongo Paluku, as saying that the cases were detected between 27 November and 10 December. The deadly Ebola disease was confirmed in Uganda on 14 October, 2000. It has so far infected 429 people of whom 172 have died. Health officials say it has been contained.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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