UN health agency says Ebola outbreak in southern Sudan appears under control

Health authorities in southern Sudan say that an outbreak of Ebola – which has killed seven people since it was first reported last month – appears to be under control, according to the United Nations lead health agency.

Laboratory testing of samples is continuing and further results will be available soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in a statement.

As of last week, the seven fatalities were among 30 reported cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Yambio County in Western Equatoria Province.

The Ebola virus was first identified in Sudan and what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976. It is a contagious disease and causes death in many cases.