From: "John P. Woodall" 
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 22:45:57 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: PROMED: Ebola - Zaire: UPDATE

Date: Thu, 24 Aug 95 23:00:01 -0000
From: "kazuhiko hata" 

EBOLA - ZAIRE: UPDATE
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                     WHO PRESS RELEASES ON EBOLA IN ZAIRE                     
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   Press Release WHO/62
   
   24 August 1995
    
   THE EBOLA FEVER EPIDEMIC OFFICIALLY DECLARED OVER
  
   The International Scientific and Technical Committee, established by
   the World Health Organization (WHO) in Zaire, officially announced
   today the end of the recent outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in
   this country. Dr Ebrahim M. Samba, WHO Regional Director for Africa
   was present at the ceremony.
   
   The last identified case was admitted to hospital in Kikwit on 24 June
   1995 and was discharged on 14 July 1995. Since two maximum incubation
   periods, that is 42 days, have elapsed without any new reported cases,
   the conditions allowing the outbreak to be officially declared over
   are now met.
   
   Active surveillance and tracing of cases and deaths retrospectively
   have shown that the first identified case related to the outbreak had
   onset of illness on 6 January 1995.
   
   The final total of confirmed cases is 315, including 244 deaths, which
   represents a mortality rate of 77%. One hundred sixty-six of the 315
cases were females and 149 males. Mortality is slightly higher among males
(81%)than among females (74%).
   
   The cases ranged in age from 3 days to 71 years, with a median of 35
   years. Twenty six cases were less than 17 years old and 13 were over
   60 years old. The median age among survivors was 29 years, among fatal
   cases 35 years.
   
   Of the 286 cases with known occupation, 75 (26%) were
   nurses or students, 61 (21%) housewives. Retrospective case-finding is
   going on to assess the full magnitude of this outbreak.
   
   The cases have occurred in three Sub-Regions of Bandundu Region, with
   one case in the Kwango Sub-Region and the rest in Sub-Regions Kikwit
   and Kwilu. Two hundred sixty-six cases have been reported in Kikwit,
   the remaining in Bulungu (13 cases), Fashi (1), Gungu (4), Idiofa (1),
   Mosango (23) Mokala (1) and Vanga (6).
   
   Since the reservoir of the virus is not known, during the outbreak and
   subsequent studies, field teams captured more than 3000 birds and
   mammals, including small rodents, and several thousand possible
   insect vectors. Samples from these animals are now being processed for
   virus isolation.
   
   Blood samples from patients, patient contacts and health care workers
   potentially exposed are being investigated in the WHO collaborating
   Centre for Reference and Research on Special Pathogens at the Centers
   for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and in
the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Haemorrhagic
Fevers and Arboviruses at the National Institute of Virology, Johannesburg,
South Africa.
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