In the space of a month, 15 people died in Beni (Democratic Republic of Congo). These deaths are among a larger number of suspected cases, which have been spotted by local doctors. “Victims exhibited nasal hemorrhages, blood-stained vomiting and fevers. Some bodies even showed bleeding through the ears. The victims could survive between 6 and 7 days before dying. We tried several times to save the sick, but in vain. It is a disease of which we still do not know the origin”, explained doctor Alain Musondolya in Free Africa. A new form of Ebola is suspected because the symptoms are quite similar.
Samples being analyzed
Currently, six other people affected by this disease (5 women and one man) are under observation and samples have been sent to the INRB (National Institute for Biomedical Research) in Kinshasa, the capital, for examination. For the time being, residents of the affected region are encouraged to observe strict hygiene rules, particularly at the level of the hand washing. The current mayor of Beni insisted in particular on “not handling the body of a person who died of this disease”. The doctor, interviewed by Europe1fears a spread of the epidemic: “We have no inputs to treat them and the staff is exposed to contamination”.
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