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afrol News, 26 January - Although the number of the confirmed Ebola cases has risen slightly to 26 in Gabon and to 16 in Congo Brazzaville, new infections are now so low that it seems the epidemic is "burning out". Local authorities and international health teams are however still on alert. According to the latest update from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the government of Gabon by now has reported 26 confirmed cases, (10 by laboratory testing, 16 epidemiologically linked), including 23 deaths. An additional 22 suspected cases in the Ogooue-Ivindo province of Gabon are under investigation. As of 20 January 2002, 16 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths have been reported in villages in Congo Brazzaville, close to the border between the two countries, WHO reports. In two weeks, the number of confirmed cases thus has risen from 20 to 26 in Gabon and from 13 to 16 in Congo Brazzaville. Ten persons have died of Ebola during the last two weeks. Although the Ebola virus is highly contagious and has a death toll of 50-90 percent (depending on the strain and treatment), Ebola outbreaks usually burn out within short after they have been effectively isolated. The high death toll registered in Gabon and Congo Brazzaville indicates that one is dealing with the so-called Zaire strain of the virus, typically appearing in this part of Africa. There are two main Ebola viruses known to humans; the Zaire strain with a mortality rate of 70-90%, and the South Sudan strain, a less intense variety, with a mortality rate of 50-70%. The Zaire strain, however, has a tendency of burning out rapidly. The infamous Ogooue-Ivindo province also fell victim to an outbreak of the Zaire strain five years ago, killing 45 people. Also contributing significantly to the apparent quick burn out of the epidemic has been the prompt arrival of national and international health teams. The WHO and national health agencies have coordinated the work and several international health organisations arrived already in December. While health agencies and organisations treated the patients, provided water sanitation and traced contacts, local government in Gabon and Congo Brazzaville sealed of the isolated areas affected to stop a further spread of the epidemic.
The international team is still operational in Libreville, Makokou (Gabon) and in Congo Brazzaville, WHO confirms. A fourth team of health workers from WHO and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) had been forced to leave the village of Mekambo (Gabon). - Discussions with the provincial and national authorities for the return of the team to Mekambo are continuing and it is hoped the team will go back at the earliest possible date to contain the outbreak with the local authorities, WHO says in a statement. There is no specific treatment or vaccine for the disease, which is often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, limited kidney and liver functions, and both internal and external bleeding. The last Ebola outbreak, last year in Uganda (South Sudan strain), however showed that quick respond from health authorities and intensive treatment significantly reduced the fatality rate of the disease. 224 persons were killed in the Ugandan outbreak, which occurred in an area that was more difficult to isolate and thus managed to spread from its initial cluster. Sources: Based on WHO, MSF and afrol
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