Ebola virus killed 16 in Uganda

A news agency reported from Kampala, capital city of Uganda, that an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in the district of Bundibugyo in the western part of the country had killed 16 people. Ebola is a group of viruses that cause Ebola haemorrhagic fever, for which there is no cure.

Director of health services at the Ugandan ministry of health, Sam Zaramba, told IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks, part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) news agency that 51 people had become infected with the deadly Ebola virus over the past three weeks.

Ebola haemorrhagic fever leads to various symptoms that can appear suddenly, including diarrhoea, fever, fatigue, general pain and malaise, and severe bleeding, both externally and internally. Cause of death is usually from hypovolemic shock (not enough blood) or organ failure.

The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids and tissue of infected humans and other primates, including dead ones. Ebola hemorrhagic fever has a high death rate, claiming between 50 and 90 per cent of victims. The only way to stop or contain it is through prevention, rapid diagnosis, and isolation of people suspected of being infected with the virus. Link