Confirmed Ebola cases up to 91

There have been a total of 91 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in the Republic of Congo (RoC) and neighbouring Gabon, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported in its latest situation update on 15 March. As of 9 March, there had been 31 confirmed cases, including 18 deaths, in the central Cuvette region of RoC, which borders the Ogooue-Invindo province of Gabon, the agency stated. Reports were received of deaths between mid-January and 8 March in three remote villages, approximately 65 km north-west of Kelle in western RoC, with the majority of the cases occurring in Ambomi, WHO reported. A further 58 contacts were being followed up, it said. As of 12 March, the Gabonese Ministry of Health had reported 60 confirmed cases in Gabon, including 50 deaths. The most recent cases were confined to the Ogooue-Invindo province, northern Gabon, with the last two confirmed deaths occurring in Makokou and Mekambo on 23 February and 10 March respectively, the ministry reported. A further 62 contacts were being followed up. A 50-km road has just been reopened in the affected area of RoC and a team from the international health organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), presently in Kelle, would travel to the villages as soon as possible, WHO reported. The team - comprising staff from WHO, the Congolese Ministry of Health and Epicentre-Paris, a partner in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network - would be collecting samples and referring them for laboratory analysis, WHO reported. It would also be prepared to implement barrier nursing practices, surveillance and health education analysis if requested, the report added.