Skip to main content
BBC NEWS / AFRICA
Graphics VersionBBC Sport Home
News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |
Friday, 16 November 2007, 14:26 GMT

Angolan bug mystifies the experts

Map UN health experts say they remain mystified by an unidentified disease in Angola that has killed four people.

About 200 other victims are in hospital suffering from symptoms which include fever and extreme drowsiness.

A team of specialists has spent two weeks studying the outbreak at a clinic in a northern suburb of the capital.

The World Health Organization said it was important "people do not panic" and report to hospital if they have such symptoms, AFP news agency reports.

A WHO spokeswoman said experts were still carrying out tests.

"More and more people have fallen ill but we have not been able to identify the cause of their sickness," Reuters news agency quotes Fadela Chaib as saying at a news briefing.

"It might be exposure to a toxic substance, something in the environment. But the possibility of an infectious disease is not yet excluded."

The outbreak in Luanda's northern Cacuaco suburb was first reported in October.



E-mail this to a friend
Related to this story:
Country profile: Angola (28 Aug 07 |  Country profiles )
Angola struggles to cope with virus (07 Apr 05 |  Africa )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Angolan government
World Health Organization
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites



SEARCH BBC NEWS: 

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |

NewsWatch | Notes | Contact us | About BBC News | Profiles | History

^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©