- The cause of Angola's unknwo illness has been linked to contaminated salt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, dismissing earlier reports that the contamination might have been caused by a dumped rubbish.
The first cases of the outbreak were reported in Angola's Cacuaco municipality on 2 October. It has claimed the lives of four children in the Angolan capital Luanda.
Officials of WHO and Angolan health ministry have been carrying out epidemiological investigations into the source of the illness.
It has now been proved that all the victims [414] carried symptoms of bromide poisoning whose traces have been found in food and salt, but its direct source is yet to be found.
Clinical symptoms of the illness are extreme drowsiness, waking only to painful stimuli. Though its victims recover slowly over a number of days, they however remain ataxic with many unable to walk by themselves. Its symptoms are most extreme in children under 15.
The neurological indication of the outbreak is of a cerebellar abnormality with no sign of peripheral neuropathy and relaxes are normal.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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