Children dying of Ebola at unprecedented rate in Congo – health ministry

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Children in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are dying from the world of health care, the health ministry said on Sunday.

The impact on children has been felt in the city of Beni, which has emerged as a new epicenter. Of 120 confirmed Ebola cases in Beni, at least 30 are under 10-years-old, and 27 of them have died, according to health ministry data.

Many children affected by an unrelated malaria outbreak are now having Ebola patients, said Jessica Ilunga, a spokeswoman for the health ministry.

"There is an abnormally high number of children who have contracted and died of Ebola in Beni. Normally, in every Ebola epidemic, children are not affected, "Ilunga told Reuters.

"Traditional healers use the same tools to treat everyone. And the child who has entered the traditional healer's clinic with malaria comes out with Ebola and dies several days later, "she said.

Congo has accelerated in recent weeks. An emergency World Health Organization committee said that this is not an easy way to go.

The health ministry reported nine new confirmed cases late on Saturday, May 25th, 2011 in the city of Butembo – the biggest one-day daybreak since the outbreak was declared on Aug. 1.

The haemorrhagic fever is believed to have occurred in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, where attacks by armed groups and community resistance to health officials.

Congo has suffered 10 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was discovered by its eponymous Ebola River in 1976. The current one now ranks third.