Ebola deaths increase

Deaths resulting from Ebola, an haemorrhagic fever, have increased to 28 among 47 cases reported in northwestern Republic of Congo by Tuesday, the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) reported. In an update on Wednesday, WHO said the latest cases were reported in Mbomo District, Cuvette Ouest Department. It said 97 others who have come into contact with infected people were being followed up. A team of WHO experts from Geneva and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network have joined an emergency team already in the field, and would contribute to epidemiological surveillance, social mobilisation and public health education, WHO reported. On 25 November, WHO reported from the capital, Brazzaville, that the Ebola toll had reached 23 deaths among 43 cases. Of the 43 cases, 40 were recorded in Mbomo District and three in Mbanza District of Cuvette Ouest Department. Of the 23 deaths, 20 had been in Mbomo and three in Mbanza. [For more information on the Ebola virus, go to www.cdc.gov]