The International Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) has launched an appeal to stem an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Congo which has killed 75 people so far.
"There is an urgent need for preventative measures and public information to stop this highly contagious disease spreading," the IFRC said in a statement. It said €130,000 was needed immediately to help tackle the disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday that the outbreak in the Kelle and Mbomo districts near the central African country's border with Gabon had reached 93 cases but was under control.
The IFRC will use the funds to advise local populations on ways to prevent the disease, such as not eating wild "bushmeat", not touching dead animals and adopting safe practices during funeral rites.
The outbreak is thought to have been triggered off by human consumption of infected monkey meat, but many villagers believe occult forces are at work. Four teachers accused of casting an evil spell to cause the outbreak were stoned and beaten to death.
The appeal, aimed at the IFRC's national societies, governments and the general public, is intended to raise funds to help 50,000 people in remote areas of Congo for three months.
Ebola, which is passed on by infected body fluids, kills between 50 and 90 per cent of its victims through massive internal bleeding, depending on the strain of the disease.
It killed 73 people in Congo and Gabon in an epidemic from October 2001 to February 2002.
AFP