Congo has 24 cases of Ebola and 13 deaths, says WHO.

Aline Leal, from Agência Brasil - The Democratic Republic of Congo has already reported 24 cases of Ebola virus contamination, including 13 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today (27), but initially the United Nations (UN) agency believes there is no connection between these cases, registered in the Congolese province of Equateur, and those in Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

According to information from the WHO, all indications are that the first case of contamination was a pregnant woman who prepared an animal hunted by her husband. She became ill, with symptoms of the Ebola virus, and died on August 11th, still without a diagnosis of the disease.

In the week following the pregnant woman's death, healthcare professionals who had been in contact with her, as well as relatives, also presented symptoms of the disease.

The Congolese Ministry of Health is tracing possible contacts of those infected to prevent further spread of the disease, and is closely monitoring 80 people, based on previous experiences, as this is the seventh Ebola outbreak in the country, where the virus first emerged in 1976, when the country was still known as Zaire.

The WHO emphasizes that it does not recommend travel restrictions to or from the country, except in cases where the person has a confirmed case of the disease, is suspected of being infected with Ebola, or has had contact with sick individuals.

The Congolese Minister of Health, Félix Kabange, said that, unfortunately, the results of the analysis of eight samples from infected people are positive, and it is another strain of the virus.