W. Bahr el Ghazal State investigates Ebola outbreak

By Ngor Arol Garang

October 15, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The western Bahr el Ghazal State government in collaboration with international medical practitioners today says they are trying to reach a remote village of Kitkit to investigate reports of Ebola outbreak in the region.
23 people among them 20 soldiers of southern Sudan army died of an unexplained disease suspected to be Ebola earlier this month the Southern Sudan army said. However further investigation should be done identify it.

The Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a viral hemorrhagic fever. There are four recognized species within the ebolavirus genus, which in turn have number specific strains. The Zaire virus is the type species, which is also the first discovered and the most lethal. Sudan Ebola virus is the second species of Ebola that emerged simultaneous with the Zaire virus.

“We have organized ourselves into teams and planed to go to the area to fully investigate what caused the death of the four Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers besides four other civilians in the area in both August and September 2009,” said the state minister of information and communications, Efesio Kon Uguak.

The minister, speaking from Wau town, reiterated that reports from the state ministry of health indicates that at least four people have died and several others are showing symptoms of some type of viral hemorrhagic fever.

The State Ministry of Health report also revealed death of the six soldiers allegedly believed to be members of the SPLA stationed around village of Kitkit in Western Bahr al-Ghazal state. They were found bleeding from the nose and vomiting blood, the report indicates.

Similarly, Major General Kuol Deim Kuol, the SPLA official spokesperson, acknowledged in an interview with members of press death of other 20 soldiers including three wives belonging to these soldiers in Bahr al-Ghazal of a disease suspected to be Ebola.

However, Kuol made no mention of the place where the incident occurred adding that he fear large number of the population may also be infected if immediate medical intervention is not taken.

Even though the symptoms may appear to be that of Ebola, medical practitioners will not be able to determine which hemorrhagic virus is causing the disease until they can investigate suspected cases in Kitkit, said a medical doctor belong to the world health organization in Juba earlier September 2009.

The medical practitioner identified as Dr. Formenty added that there are several types of viruses that cause similar symptoms – high fever and bleeding from openings in the body.

Some viruses cause relatively mild illnesses, while others such as Ebola and Marburg, often kill their host, immediately if no proper medical attention is given.

The practitioner said they did not exclude a long list of possible diseases that might be the cause of the death of four SPLA soldiers and four civilians in Kitkit.

However, the doctors’ plans to investigate the real cause met with a lot of rain in this area. Roads were bad and helicopter could not land as this village of Kit Kit is deep in the forest to reach and investigate all these rumors, he said.

Earlier minister Uguak said that reports from the state ministry of health indicates that the last Ebola outbreak in southern Sudan occurred in 2004.

The disease, one of the most feared in the world, killed seven people and infected 17 others before it was contained more than a month later.

(sT)