More Die of Suspected Ebola as WHO Warns That Numbers Will Rise Further

SWITZERLAND – The World Health Organization says there have now been 600 suspected cases of Ebola and 139 suspected deaths, with numbers expected to rise further given the time taken to detect the virus.

Fifty-one cases have now been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and two in neighbouring Uganda.

Local health workers say some facilities are being overwhelmed and, although personal protective equipment has started to arrive, they say they are still working without adequate protection.

A WHO official said investigations were under way to find out how long the virus had been spreading for, but that their priority was to curb transmission.

The first known case was a nurse who developed symptoms and died on April 24.