EBOLA TOLL RISES

Now 3 dead, 6 infected in Congo

Three people are dead and six others are infected in a suspected outbreak of the lethal Ebola virus in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization confirmed.

The outbreak, which raises fears of a possible new epidemic, emerged April 22 in Bas-Uele province, according to Congo Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga. One of the possible nine cases has been confirmed, officials said.

Dr. Allarangar Yokouide, the WHO representative in Congo, said the first teams of specialists should arrive in the affected area of Likati on Friday or Saturday. The zone is 800 miles from the capital, Kinshasa.

“The area in Likati is difficult to access, but the work of tracing contacts is very crucial to stopping the epidemic in its tracks,” he said.

The community is near the border with Central African Republic.

On April 22, a confirmed Ebola victim traveled across part of the vast province on a motorcycle to reach medical care. He had blood in his vomit and stool.

There are conflicting accounts of whether he reached the regional hospital in Likati. Because Bas-Uele is so remote, it took 10 days before a sample of the man’s blood arrived in Kinshasa and was tested.

By that time, both the original patient and the driver of the motorcycle who took him to the hospital, his brother, had died, according to Alima, a medical humanitarian organization.

The body of the original patient was taken back to his village for burial.

A follow-up ministry health team later identified six other people who had fallen ill in the same village, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who are participating in coordination meetings but who have not yet been asked to provide epidemiological or laboratory support.

The confirmed case was of the virus’ Zaire strain, according to an official.

The health workers who treated the patients without protective gear are now also in grave danger of contracting the disease.