World

Ebola Dead Now At 149

October 16, 2000 / 1:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The death toll from the deadly Ebola virus rose to 149 on Tuesday, with officials reporting four more deaths in the northern town of Gulu where the outbreak started nearly three months ago.

The health ministry said in a statement that 26 patients suspected of having Ebola were still hospitalized in Gulu, 225 miles north of Kampala. In Masindi, 78 miles south of Gulu, three patients were still hospitalized.

The total number who have contracted the virus, which has no known cure, stands at 361. Among the dead are 10 nurses who had treated Ebola virus victims in Gulu, Dr. Alex Opio, assistant commissioner for national disease control in the health ministry, said Tuesday.

"Everything possible is being done to contain the epidemic," Opio said in the statement.

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Ebola is a brutally-deadly virus that is lethal 90 percent of the time, but recent vaccine trials have shown promise, stopping the disease cold in test monkeys.

The government has been advising people in affected areas to avoid cultural activities, including lingering at burial sites, to reduce chances of contracting the virus.

The latest deaths were announced a day after officials reported that the contagious disease had spread to the southwest of the country.

Authorities had hoped to keep the disease from spreading beyond Gulu, where victims first showed symptoms in September. But since Nov. 12, eight people have died in the southwest, including one death Saturday.

The fever caused by the Ebola virus is transmitted through body fluids. The disease can cause severe hemorrhagic fever and is often fatal, but victims aggressively treated with rehydration fluids stand a better chance of survival.