Wednesday, March 12, 2003
By Christian Tsoumou, Reuters
Bazzaville, Congo Republic - "The deadly Ebola virus has killed 100 people in remote forests of Congo Republic and wiped out nearly two-thirds of the gorillas in a reserve.
'We have reached the fateful figure of 100 dead,' Congo's Health Minister Alain Moka said on Tuesday at a ceremony to accept donatinsto help fight the outbreak.
The latest Ebola epidemic to hit the central African country struck in January in the dense forest region of Cuvette-Ouest about 440 miles north of the capital Brazzaville.
EDIT
There is no known cure for Ebola, and authorities in central Africa have battled the disease by cordoning off affectede areas and trying to stop locals from eating primates.
Monkeys, chimpanzees and gorillas started dying in large numbers towards the end of last year, and primatologists say the impact has been devastating on the Lossi park in Cuvette-Oueste.'
http://www.enn.com/news/2003-03-12/s_3346.asp