WORLD> Africa
Congo government declares Ebola outbreak in south
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-25 23:52

KINSHASA -- A mysterious disease that has killed nine people in southern Democratic Republic of Congo has been identified as the deadly Ebola virus, the Congolese health minister said on Thursday.

Undated photo shows doctor taking blood samples to test for exposure to the Ebola virus. A mysterious disease that has killed nine people in southern Democratic Republic of Congo has been identified as the deadly Ebola virus, the Congolese health minister said on Thursday. [Agencies]

The virus appeared in southern Western Kasai province on November 27, and blood and stool samples were sent to laboratories in Gabon and South Africa for identification.

"Following the analysis of samples taken in (the village of) Kalwamba, it is now recognised that we are facing an epidemic of the viral haemorrhagic fever Ebola," said health minister Auguste Mopipi Mukulumanya.

There is no cure or treatment for Ebola. Within a week, a raised rash, often hemorrhagic (bleeding), spreads over the body. Bleeding from the mucous membranes is typical, causing apparent bleeding from the mouth, nose, eyes and rectum, which kills 50 to 90 percent of its victims.