PRETORIA, June 19, /TASS/. Six more Ebola deaths were registered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the past day, bringing the overall death toll up to 232, the country’s ministry of communication and media said in a daily bulletin.
Confirmed Ebola cases currently stand at 896, with 21 cases added to the tally during the past day.
The current Ebola outbreak began in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 15. Ebola cases and deaths have also been reported from neighboring Uganda.
The World Health Organization (WHO) describes Ebola virus disease (formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever) as "a severe, often fatal illness in humans," with the average case fatality rate of around 50%.
Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people.
