WHO suspends count of Marburg deaths

Fear and misinformation are compounding a health crisis in northwestern Angola, where Marburg fever is now blamed for at least 183 deaths.

The World Health Organization is waiting to resume its count of fatalities after suspending the campaign earlier in the week.

WHO had sent surveillance teams to affected areas to collect bodies and educate the public.

But the UN agency halted operations on Thursday after its vehicles were attacked and damaged by locals who apparently fear that health workers could be spreading the disease.

• FROM APRIL 1, 2005: Record number of deaths in Angola's Marburg outbreak, WHO says

The outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever has killed three-quarters of the 205 reported cases in Angola since October, a majority of them children under the age of five.

Cases have been reported in six of the country's northwestern provinces.

Symptoms of Marburg are similar to those of the deadly Ebola virus – headaches, nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. It's spread through close contact with bodily fluids, including blood, saliva and semen.

Health officials say the message is simple: Don't touch sick people, don't touch bodies, and seek medical help.

The World Health Organization has warned that not only Angola, but its neighbours in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Nambia must also be on the alert.