A limited outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Etoumbi, Republic of Congo, 2005.

Ebolavirus has caused highly lethal outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever in the Congo basin. The 2005 outbreak in the Republic of Congo occurred in the Etoumbi district of Cuvette Ouest Department between April and May. The two index cases were infected while poaching.

Lessons learned about pneumonic plague diagnosis from two outbreaks, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pneumonic plague is a highly transmissible infectious disease for which fatality rates can be high if untreated; it is considered extremely lethal. Without prompt diagnosis and treatment, disease management can be problematic. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2 outbreaks of pneumonic plague occurred during 2005 and 2006.

Lessons learned during active epidemiological surveillance of Ebola and Marburg viral hemorrhagic fever epidemics in Africa.

Objective: To review epidemiological surveillance approaches used during Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever epidemics in Africa in the past fifteen years. Overall, 26 hemorrhagic epidemic outbreaks have been registered in 12 countries; 18 caused by the Ebola virus and eight by the Marburg virus. About 2551 cases have been reported, among which 268 were health workers (9,3%).