Ebola death toll up as patient refuses help

The death toll from the deadly Ebola virus in the Republic of Congo (ROC) rose to 10 on Thursday after a patient refused medical aid from a team of experts, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has announced. In a statement, WHO said on Friday that the death occurred in northern region of Cuvette-Ouest. It said the population in the area was not being collaborative in efforts to check the outbreak of the often-fatal haemorrhagic fever. "The attitude of the population is hindering the strategy for dealing with this scourge," WHO said. "It blocks the experts from taking biological samples." On 23 May, the ROC government and WHO announced they had quarantined the districts of Etoumbi and Mbomo in Cuvette-Ouest. A medical surveillance team in the region is trying to monitor dozens of people there who could be infected. The virus takes five to 10 days to incubate, said an adviser to the Congolese Ministry of Health, Jean-Vivien Mombouli. Thursday's death may be among a second wave of infections, he said, as the victim's wife died on 11 May. Ebola is transmitted through body fluids and tissue of people and chimpanzees infected with the virus. It is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind, according to WHO.