WHO has received preliminary reports of five suspected cases, including three deaths, with acute haemorrhagic fever from Mokouangonda, an isolated forest village of about 100 inhabitants in Mokoke district, Region of Sangha, in northern Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).

The three deaths were among male forest hunters from Mokouangonda who presented similar symptoms of epistaxis (nose bleeds), bloody diarrhoea, cough and fever prior to deaths after a 1-2 week long hunting expedition in the Odzala National Park.

A joint Ministry of Health (MoH) and WHO team is currently in the field to assess the situation and to collect clinical samples for diagnosis. These will be tested by the Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville (CIRMF) Gabon, and Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale à Kinshasa, DRC.

A Regional Coordination Committee to contain the outbreak has been established in Ouesso, Sangha Region, under the Direction Générale de la Santé, assisted by WHO and other international partners including Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Congo and Museum National dHistoire Naturelle in France. Measures to respond to the disease outbreak including epidemiological investigation, social mobilization and infection control are being implemented in the area.

From:WHO

2010.6.29