KAMPALA, Uganda
(AP) -- The deadly Ebola virus continues to claim lives nearly
two months after the outbreak was identified in Uganda, a health
ministry official said Friday, announcing that two more deaths
had pushed the toll from the disease to 154.
"Ebola
is still with us, and we do call upon the public to be very active
and take preventive measure to curtail its spread," Dr. Alex
Opio of the health ministry's disease control unit told reporters.
"There is no room for complacency, and people must work very
hard to protect themselves against the epidemic."
He said two
more cases of the virus had been identified, raising the number
of those infected to 370.
The government
has been advising people in affected areas to avoid physical contact
with the dead. Some cultural activities at burial sites include
washing the dead and increasing the chance of transmitting the
ebola virus.
The fever
caused by the Ebola virus is transmitted through body fluids.
The disease can cause severe hemorrhagic fever and is often fatal,
but victims aggressively treated with rehydration fluids stand
a better chance of survival.
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