Possible Ebola outbreak under investigation

Following the deaths of five people in the village of Oloba in Mbomo district, Cuvette-ouest region of the Republic of Congo (ROC), an investigation is under way into a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Tuesday. "The team found no one ill upon their arrival, but they are continuing to investigate all villages in the region and to inform and educate the local population [about the disease] and put a programme into place to fight any possible epidemic," a UN source reported on Wednesday. The suspected cases have occurred in the same area as a recent Ebola outbreak, where, as of 29 March 2002, 32 confirmed cases, including 20 deaths, were reported. However, WHO noted at the time that there was no indication of further disease activity. That outbreak began in December 2001 and affected several districts in the ROC and the Mekambo area of neighbouring Gabon, 600 km east of the Gabonese capital, Libreville. A team from the Ministry of Health and WHO are on site to investigate the current suspected cases and collect samples. The samples will be sent to the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville in neighbouring Gabon for verification. Ecosystemes Forestiers d'Afrique Centrale has sent a team to investigate the deaths of wild animals in the affected area. Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever transmitted through direct contact with body fluids of infected persons or other primates. There is no cure, and between 50 percent and 90 percent of victims die. The epidemic appears to have broken out around 17 May, following the handling of a dead chimpanzee by two hunters in the forest. Thus far a total of six cases have been documented, resulting in five deaths.