An 10-week old outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in northeast Gabon and neighbouring Congo has claimed its 25th victim, according to figures from Gabon's health ministry released today.
The latest casualty brought to 18 the number of people to have succumbed to the haemorrhagic disease in the central African country of Gabon, according to health ministry figures, in addition to seven dead in Congo, as reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday.
The latest tally also includes details of 197 people said to have been exposed to the disease.
Ebola is one of the most virulent diseases known to man, with sufferers sometimes dying after a massive haemorrhage causes blood to pour from their skin like sweat.
The disease is spread through contact with bodily fluids including saliva, and its early symptoms are similar to those of the flu.
The Gabonese government announced on Saturday that it was extending a quarantine zone to include the entire province of Ogooue-Ivindo where the outbreak began in late October in an effort to contain the outbreak.
AFP