An outbreak of an unidentified haemorrhagic fever has claimed the lives of 87 people in northern Angola over the past four months, health ministry spokesperson Carlos Alberto said on Friday.
The spokesperson said the ministry is awaiting the results of samples sent to Senegal and the United States to identify the strain of the fever.
”Seventy-six people died between November last year and February, and 11 others died between then and March 15 … from a strain of haemorrhagic fever that we have not yet identified,” Alberto said.
All the deaths occurred at the main provincial hospital of Uige town in northern Angola.
The spokesperson denied that the fatalities were due to Ebola fever.
”Ebola is highly contagious. But with this haemorrhagic fever, there have been cases where children have died but their mothers have survived without displaying the slightest signs of the disease,” said Alberto.
Ebola kills by inducing massive internal haemorrhages.
He underlined that the outbreak is confined to the town of Uige and surrounding areas. — Sapa-AFP