Marburg Outbreak Still Not Under Control: WHO
The outbreak of the deadly Ebola-like Marburg virus in Angola is still not under control, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday.
So far, there have been 200 cases of the rare virus and 174 deaths, making it the worst recorded outbreak of Marburg. There has been some success in containing the outbreak, but more needs to be done, the Associated Press reported.
"The situation right now in Angola is not under control yet. This is still a crisis, and a health crisis on a national level," Dr. Mike Ryan, director of the WHO's alert and response operations, told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Like Ebola, Marburg is a hemorrhagic fever that spreads through contact with bodily fluids and can cause rapid death. There is no vaccine to protect against Marburg.
The worst previous recorded Marburg outbreak killed 124 in the Congo between 1998 and 2000, the AP reported.
-----
Copyright � 2005 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
|
