In
the Democratic Republic of Congo, specifically Durba - the Watsa Zone, in the
north-eastern part of the country -, Doctors are reporting the outbreak of the
CCHF or Ebola virus which began this past January continues to spread slowly. CNN is
reporting this as news, but in fact the disease spread is more indicative of CCHF
-Crimea Congo Haemorragic Fever - than it is of Ebola. So far, the disease seems to have
affected gold miners at a state run mine near Durba. Both Ebola and CCHF have a pattern of
incubating in caves, or otherwise underground.
According to government sources
in Kinshasa, at least sifty-four people have already died from the virus, which has a high
kill rate, and sporadic cases have been reported within 50km of the Sudanese border..
Ebola is highly infectious and
has no known cure. It is spread by contact with the body fluids of an infected victim. Its
kill rate is 90%, compared to about 30% for CCHF.
The most common 'infected
victim' is the monkey, and handling infected monkeys, or eating the meat of one, is a
common form of transmission.
In 1995, an outbreak of the
Ebola virus killed 345 people.
