Plague confirmed in Congo, 42 reported dead - WHO

GENEVA, Oct 13 (Reuters) An outbreak of plague has been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 42 deaths reported among 626 suspected cases over the past 10 weeks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today.

But the U.N. health agency said the number of suspected cases ''may be an overestimation'' as the fatality ratio was unusually low for pneumonic plague.

''Preliminary results from a rapid diagnosis test in the field found three samples positive, out of eight,'' the WHO said, confirming the presence of the disease. It said additional tests were under way.

Highly contagious pneumonic plague is the most deadly form of plague. It can be spread by humans and usually kills half of its victims.

A team from the WHO, Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and Congolese health authorities has been investigating the outbreak near Wamba in Oriental province in the northeast of the country.

Disease surveillance was being strengthened and tracing of contacts of people with the disease was under way, as well as measures to raise awareness among the population, it said in a statement.

Plague, which causes fever, aches, vomiting and nausea, as well as open sores in some forms, is endemic in many African countries, the Americas, Asia and the former Soviet Union.

In early 2005, 150 cases of plague were confirmed in Zobia, north of the town of Kisangani in eastern Congo, half of them fatal, according to the WHO.

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