( AFP ) - A dreaded Ebola outbreak has killed two people, bringing the toll to 25 in western Uganda, an official said Saturday, as health teams battled to contain the virulent strain in the region.
Health authorities continued to monitor hundreds of quarantined people who had contacts with the Ebola victims in Bundibugyo district, home to 250,000 people and the outbreak's epicentre .
"Two people died last night in Bundibugyo , bringing the death toll to 25," said Sam Okware , a health ministry official heading the battle against the disease.
The mysterious strain has so far infected 104 people -- including the 25 dead -- some of them medical workers who treated patients without latex gloves and respirator gowns.
Health authorities said the situation, although still grave, had started to improve mainly in hospitals where the government has deployed additional personnel and protective equipment.
"It seems we are on top of the situation because all medical personnel and equipment have been sent to where they are required," Okware said.
"What is more important is that four people have recovered and they are about to be discharged from Bundibugyo hospital and two others are about to be discharged from Kikyo health centre," said Sam Kazinga , the area's district commissioner.
Alarmed by the new outbreak, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has pleaded with the public to refrain from handshakes and kissing while radio stations and mobile films are reaching out to communities at risk to pass on similar information.
In addition, posters, brochures and factsheets were being distributed in a bid to educate the largely unschooled public. Affected districts have banned discotheques, crusades and public video halls to reduce human contact.
Experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were studying new blood and tissue samples from western Kanungu and Kasese districts and northwestern Adjuman district for possible Ebola infections.
The health ministry said the previously unknown Ebola virus hit the region in September, simmered unnoticed while obscured by chaos and spurred other infections with similar symptoms, until it was identified in late November.
Unlike other Ebola strains, which kill after signature non-stop haemorrhage , the new strain takes life after provoking mainly high fever, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Although containing the strain is the priority, epidemiologists are also scouring the area to search for the source of the virus, seven years after it killed at least 170 people in northern Uganda, in a bid to stall future outbreaks.
Spread by body fluids, the blood-borne disease, Ebola was named after a small DRC river where it was discovered in 1976. It re-emerged in Sudan later the same year. Other outbreaks have been recorded in Ivory Coast, Gabon and Uganda.
In the previous outbreaks, the disease struck with initial ferocity causing massive fatalities, then faded away months later without leaving a hint where it came from. Experts are still seeking its footprints, if any.
Because of its scanty history, scientists have concluded that the strain is somewhat containable because it kills its victims faster than it can spread to new hosts.