WHO says seven dead in Sudan Ebola outbreak

GENEVA, June 11, 2004 (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday that the death toll from the Ebola outbreak in southern Sudan has held at seven this week.

The number of infected people besides the dead has risen to 23 from 21 on Monday, WHO said. The outbreak, which appeared May 10, is caused by a known form of the virus, WHO says.

A workshop of local teachers has been set up to spread information about the disease and prevention measures that can be taken and health education materials have been distributed to schools and community centers.

“Trained staff have been placed in the hospital to provide information and counseling to patients and their relatives,” WHO added.

Ebola symptoms include general malaise, fever, vomiting blood and bloody diarrhea.

The virus is spread by contact with body fluids, including sweat and saliva. Outbreaks of the disease are rare, and no one knows where the virus lives when it is not infecting humans. The disease usually kills its victims so fast that it also destroys the host for the virus.

Some believe the disease may enter the human population from the ingestion of infected “bush meat” _ chimps, gorillas and other animals sometimes included in the diet of some African people.