WHO: Ebola infection numbers rise in DR Congo

The number of people who have fallen ill with the ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 46 cases in recent days, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday in Geneva. So far, 19 people have died of the illness which causes severe fevers and internal bleeding and kills between 25 and 90 per cent of those who become infected. An additional 26 people are suspected of having contracted the virus. The virus strain in DR Congo is believed to be unrelated to that found in neighbouring Uganda in July and early August, which killed at least 16 people. The WHO had reported 41 infections and 18 deaths in DR Congo on Friday.