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Virus Claims 174 Lives So Far
SecurityProNews
Staff Writer
2005-04-09
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
An epidemic of a virus similar to Ebola has claimed 174 lives in Angola so far as frightened people attacked aid workers.
The virus is called Marburg, and this is the biggest outbreak ever recorded. Even some health workers left fearing that they may catch the disease.
"It's becoming a huge problem," said World Health Organization spokesman Dick Thompson.
According to a New York Times article,
"Health officials said some Angolans are hiding sick relatives out of fear that they will die if they are taken to the hospitals, thereby increasing the chance the disease will spread. There is no cure or vaccine for the highly contagious virus. Victims suffer a high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and severe bleeding from bodily orifices and usually die within a week.
The initial outbreak appears to have spread through a pediatric ward in Uige, a town in a farming district about 180 miles north of the capital, Luanda. More than 60 percent of the victims so far have been children."
More than 80% of people who have gotten the disease have died.
About the Author:
SecurityProNews is a daily online and email publication focusing on internet security issues.
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