News & Perspective

Editor's note: As originally published, the story below incorrectly listed the number of deaths in the Marburg epidemic as 337. The correct number, 335, was substituted on Jun 8, 2005.

(CIDRAP News) – Angola's epidemic of Marburg hemorrhagic fever reached 399 cases with 335 deaths yesterday, an increase of 62 cases and 24 deaths in the preceding 8 days, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) statement.

(CIDRAP News) – The death toll in Angola's epidemic of Marburg hemorrhagic fever has climbed to 311 out of 337 cases, but all recent cases have been confined to the province where the epidemic began, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

The last WHO report on the situation, on May 11, had listed 316 cases with 276 deaths. A Reuters report on May 16 had cited 336 cases with 292 deaths.

(CIDRAP News) – Nine people have died in the Republic of Congo from a hemorrhagic disease that authorities are describing as "Ebola-like," and at least another 52 people who had contact with the victims are being monitored, according to news reports today.

(CIDRAP News) – Angola has had 2 days in the past week with no new cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever, suggesting that the country is getting closer to controlling the epidemic, Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported today.

Angolan Health Minister Sebastiao Veloso put the Marburg death toll at 284, the report said. That compares with 280 deaths out of a total of 313 cases reported by AFP a week ago. Today's story didn't list the case total.

(CIDRAP News) – Thirty-eight new cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever have been reported in the northern Angola province of Uige in the past few days, despite hopes that the outbreak was being contained.

(CIDRAP News) – Only a few new cases of Marburg hemorrhagic fever have been reported in Angola in the past week, but recent lapses in hospital infection control have raised a risk of prolonging the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) voiced confidence today that Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Angola can be arrested but added that health agencies are prepared to keep fighting the disease for months if necessary.

(CIDRAP News) – The death toll in Angola's outbreak of Marburg hemorrhagic fever has climbed to 244 of 266 people infected, but Angolan officials say the epidemic has been confined to the province where it began, according to news reports today.

April 19, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Healthcare workers battling the worst outbreak of the lethal Marburg virus are facing cultural barriers that have hampered prevention efforts in Uige Province in northern Angola.

(CIDRAP News) – The Ebola virus has yielded an important behavioral clue that could lead to a treatment for the incurable infection that kills 50% to 90% of its victims, researchers have announced.