Ebola death toll now 24, WHO reports

The death toll from Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Gabon and the Republic of Congo was 24 as at 6 January, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Monday. It said 17 of the deaths were in Gabon, where the Ebola outbreak was first reported last month. WHO added that 33 confirmed cases had been reported, 20 in Gabon and 13 in Congolese villages close to the border between the two countries. An additional 15 cases were being investigated. All persons having had direct or suspected contact with the blood or other body fluids of Ebola cases were being observed for 21 days, WHO reported. It added that 247 such persons were under "active follow up" in both countries. An international team of medical specialists continued to work closely with Health Ministry officials on both sides of the border, WHO reported. "The Gabonese Red Cross Society is carrying out health education activities in the Gabonese villages," it said. Ebola, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it was first discovered in 1976, is transmitted by direct contact with the body fluids of infected persons. There is no cure for it and between 50 percent and 90 percent of victims die.