7 PEOPLE DIE OF THE EBOLA VIRUS IN GABON

Seven people have died of the deadly Ebola virus in Gabon, the second such outbreak in the central African nation this year, health officials said Friday.

Victims of the virus were treated in a hospital in Booue, about 175 miles east of Gabon's capital of Libreville, according to Dr. Andre Ndikuyeze of the World Health Organization headquarters in neighboring Congo.Ndikuyeze said the number of people infected with the virus was not yet known, but that at least 27 people had come into contact with the victims in the last week.

Of those, three have developed Ebola symptoms and one is in critical condition, he said.

Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to man, causes internal and external bleeding and kills up to 80 percent of those infected. It is spread through bodily fluids, and there is no treatment or cure.

The outbreak marks the fourth time the disease has struck Africa since 1995.