Three people have died from an Ebola outbreak in a remote northern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as health officials travel to the central African country in response to a rising number of suspected cases, the World Health Organization says.
Last week, WHO reported one Ebola-related death and the possibility of two others. On Saturday, the organization confirmed the other two deaths were also Ebola-related.
The first case, which came April 22, involved a 45-year-old man. The taxi driver who took the man to the hospital and a person who cared for the man both became sick and later died, WHO said.
All three deaths came in the Likati health district of Bas-Uele province, which borders the Central African Republic.
Bas-Uele province, with a population of 900,000 in 2007, is mostly inhabited by the Boa tribe, which subsists through farming and hunting and conducts some trade by way of the Uele River.
Health officials are investigating 17 other suspected cases, Dr. Ernest Dabire, WHO’s health cluster coordinator, said Sunday in Kinshasa. He further estimated that 125 people had been linked to the confirmed Ebola cases and urged the public to be vigilant and visit their doctor if they experience fever or other symptoms.
Symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and hemorrhaging can begin two to 21 days after exposure.
Though the scope of the outbreak is not yet known, WHO is not recommending any restrictions on trade with or travel to DRC.
Ebola is a highly infectious virus spread through contact with bodily fluids, and testing shows the latest outbreak involves the Zaire strain, the most dangerous of the viruses known to cause the disease.
-PMN
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