Ebola kills 177 in Democratic Republic of Congo

By Alaattin Dogru

DAKAR, Senegal (AA) - Some 177 people have died of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of an outbreak in late July, the country's Health Ministry said.

According to the Health Ministry, 341 cases of hemorrhagic fever were reported in the North Kivu province, which later spread to the province of Ituri.

Of the total hemorrhagic fever cases, 303 were confirmed to be Ebola cases, the ministry said.

It has been reported that more than 100 people have recovered from the virus.

Some 38 people died after they had a hemorrhagic fever, but it couldn't be verified whether they died of Ebola because they were buried without an autopsy.

A total of 30,072 people were administered anti-Ebola vaccines in the country with a campaign started on Aug. 8.

Ebola -- a tropical fever which first appeared in 1976 in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo -- can be transmitted to humans from wild animals.

It can also reportedly spread through contact with the body fluids of infected persons or of those who have succumbed to the virus.