Bushmeat blamed for Ebola outbreak in DRC

"Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Orientale Province are urging the population to desist from activities that could put them at risk of contracting the Ebola virus, including contact with infected individuals and the consumption of bushmeat," IRIN reports. "'Ebola virus is an animal disease ... people in some parts of our country rely on bushmeat for their livelihood ... and don't care to avoid eating meat they've got from dead animals that they often find in the bush,' said Mondoge Vitale, head of disease control at WHO's Kinshasa office," according to the news service. "The health ministry has established national- and district-level taskforces and is working with partners, including the [non-governmental organization] Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and WHO," the news service notes, adding, "At least 10 people in the province had died from suspected Ebola by 20 August, according to the [WHO]," the news service writes. (8/23).