Ebola Outbreak in Southern Congo Claims 31 Lives, WHO Confirms

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that thirty-one out of thirty-eight confirmed Ebola cases have resulted in deaths in southern Congo, where authorities are battling a new outbreak of the deadly virus.

The latest figures show the casualty rate has nearly doubled since last week and that the disease is spreading rapidly, as more than nine hundred contacts have been identified so far.

An official at WHO Africa’s program, Doctor Patrick Otim, said that more than five hundred health care workers and contacts have received their vaccination, offering them crucial protection.