U.S. Experts identify Ebola strain that killed at least 41

GULU, Uganda - The highly contagious virus that has killed 41 people in Uganda has been identified as a strain of Ebola last seen in southern Sudan in 1979, U.S. experts said Thursday, raising speculation it may have been brought by Ugandan rebels based in Sudan.

Pierre Rollin, the leader of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control team, said the virus was Ebola Sudan, one of three strains of the deadly hemorrhagic fever that can infect humans.

The finding raised the possibility that rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army may have introduced the disease during their regular attacks around Gulu, 225 miles north of Kampala.

The rebels have been fighting a 13-year war against President Yoweri Museveni's government and have kidnapped thousands of children, according to the United Nations and human rights organizations. Some have been turned into child soldiers or porters and others into sex slaves.

At least 41 people have died of Ebola and doctors fear 70 more may be infected, said Okat Lokach, the Gulu district health director.

Despite the toll, World Health Organization experts praised local health workers for their efforts in controlling the disease, saying the outbreak was likely to be contained soon largely due to their efforts and the quick arrival of U.N. and U.S. health experts.

Once the virus was identified as Ebola, doctors and nurses immediately took steps to minimize infections and a radio campaign targeted the largely rural and illiterate population, informing them what precautions to take.

''If I compare this to my previous experiences, the facilities here are outstanding compared to the classic Ebola situation,'' said Dr. Guenael Rodier, the WHO team leader, who has worked on every Ebola outbreak since 1986.

He said death and transmission rates have been kept down by ''barrier nursing'' techniques in which health care workers wear surgical gear, masks, gloves and knee-high boots and take steps to avoid contamination from infected people.

''What was started a week ago is going to pay off soon,'' Rodier said, adding that government support had also been key to getting medical supplies to Gulu.

The first Ebola case was admitted to Lacor Hospital in late September but doctors did not immediately make an accurate diagnosis. A doctor and two nurses died within days. A blood sample was then sent to South Africa for testing and the outbreak was officially confirmed last Saturday.

Since then, experts from WHO, aid workers from Doctors without Borders and investigators from the Atlanta-based CDC have advised the Ugandans. Four epidemiologists and two microbiologists from CDC arrived Thursday, bringing laboratory equipment to separate those infected from people with similar symptoms, and to try to determine the source of the outbreak.

Ebola is passed through contact with bodily fluids, such as mucus, saliva and blood, but is not airborne. The virus incubates for four to 10 days before flu-like symptoms set in. Eventually, the virus causes severe internal bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea.

The outbreak in Gulu is the first time the disease has been found in Uganda. The virus is named after the Ebola River in Congo, where the first cases were recorded in 1976. It has also been recorded in Sudan, Ivory Coast and Gabon.

There is no cure for Ebola, but patients treated with aggressive rehydration therapy have a chance of survival, Rodier said. Typically, between 80 percent and 90 percent of Ebola victims die, but Rodier said as many as 50 percent of the patients in Gulu may recover because of good, early medical attention.

Ugandan doctors attributed the response to a culture that places emphasis on health and education. Uganda was home to the first medical school in East Africa and is the only African country that has slowed HIV infection rates. The emphasis on reducing HIV - another virus carried in bodily fluids - prepared the Ugandans for Ebola.

Dr. Felix Kaducu, the medical superintendent at Gulu Hospital, said that once they knew what they were dealing with, they knew what to do. He said the staff were very frightened, but that none had fled, a common problem in past outbreaks.

''It's a new experience, they've never been confronted with this,'' Kaducu said. ''So in a week they learned about the disease, learned the proper way to treat it and then started responding. I am very proud.''

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On the Net:

CDC site, http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm