Ebola virus kills 14 in Uganda

on 28/07/2012 15:17:33

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has killed 14 people in western Uganda this month, health officials said.

There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola, which manifests itself as a haemorrhagic fever, is highly infectious and kills quickly. An outbreak in Uganda in 2000 killed 224 people.

The disease was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named after the river where it was recognised, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists do not know the natural reservoir of the virus, but they suspect the first victim in an outbreak becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.