Ebola kills 7 more in Liberia, as disease continues its spread

Seven people believed to have the Ebola virus have died in recent days in the first deaths reported in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, since the outbreak began, a health official said Tuesday.

Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah told The Associated Press that 16 people are believed to have died from the virus in the West African country. Four of the deaths were confirmed by tests to be Ebola, he said.

The deaths, recorded since June 8, are worrying because no new cases had been confirmed in Liberia in about two months. Nyenswah said the new wave of cases was believed to have begun on May 30. The virus, which causes severe bleeding and high fevers, has continued to ravage neighboring Guinea and has also spread to Sierra Leone.

"The first phase of the epidemic was contained," said Nyenswah. "But because of proximity to Guinea and Sierra Leone, we did not declare outbreak over."

One of the seven deaths was a woman who had recently traveled from an infected area in Sierra Leone and is believed to have passed the disease on to others in the house where she was staying in Monrovia.

Fear of the disease, which has no known cure, appears to have helped its spread. There have been several reports of relatives taking sick loved ones out of isolation wards, making the work of stopping the disease's spread harder.

The outbreak appears to have begun in neighboring Guinea, where the vast majority of the cases and deaths have been recorded. In all, the World Health Organization says nearly 250 people have died of the virus, which causes severe bleeding and high fever. There is no vaccine and no known cure, although proper care can increase the survival rate. 

The Associated Press