/ 8 September 1999

MARBURG KILLS FIVE IN DRC

FIVE people have reportedly died from haemorrhagic fever, rumoured to be the deadly Marburg virus, in the Democratic Republic of Congo in August. British Airways Travel Clinics medical director, Dr Andrew Jamieson said the re-emergence of haemorrhagic fevers such as Marburg and ebola in the DRC does not come as a surprise. One man died from a haemorrhagic fever in Isiro in the DRC’s Orientale province on August 29. Another six cases of suspected haemorrhagic fever were reported in Durba in the eastern DRC from August 8-22 this year, with four deaths, Jamieson said. The World Health Organisation has confirmed the outbreak, and sent a team to Isiro area to investigate.