Ebola virus outbreak in Congo stabilized

KINSHASA, Congo — An Ebola virus outbreak in a remote province of Congo that left 15 people dead has stabilized with no new reported cases in the last two weeks, the World Health Organization said Monday.

"The epidemic has stabilized but one cannot say that it's over," said WHO representative Dr. Matthieu Kamwa, who called for continued vigilance.

There have been up to 50 reported cases of the hemorrhagic fever since the outbreak began in Western Kasai province at the end of November, but the last new case was Jan. 18, said Dr. Adolphe Kongolo, a WHO epidemiologist.

Laboratories have officially confirmed 10 of them as Ebola so far but Kongolo said that some victims were buried before samples could be taken for testing. There are also some samples still being examined, he said.

Ebola kills up to 90 percent of the people it infects and is spread through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person or with contaminated objects.

Last year, Ebola killed at least 187 people in the same region of Congo. An Ebola outbreak in 1995 killed 245 people in the Congolese village of Kikwit.