UN calls for $2mn to fight deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

The United Nations appealed Wednesday for $2 million (1.6 million euros) to fight an epidemic of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed 14 people.

The call, supported by the World Health Organisation, came after the WHO said on Tuesday that the number of people infected with the rare haemorrhagic disease had tripled since mid-August.

"We're also launching an appeal to all (aid) partners to join the fight against the epidemic, which, if not quickly controlled, is a public health event that could quickly become an emergency with global impact," WHO country representative Leodegal Bazira told journalists.

The epicentre of the epidemic has been located in the town of Isiro, in the northeast of the vast country. Eleven people have died in the town out of 18 registered cases.

Ebola outbreaks have also been reported from neighbouring western Uganda, where 17 people have died.

The disease, named after a small river in DR Congo, is fatal in about 50 to 90 percent of cases, with victims bleeding from body orifices before dying in the most severe instances.

(c) 2012 AFP