Uganda: WHO helps contain ebola outbreak

The death toll from an Ebola outbreak in western Uganda has risen to 16 after two more people died of the disease, though health officials are hopeful that the worst has passed. There is no specific treatment for Ebola, which is transmitted by close contact and bodily fluids. Eighteen people are in an isolation ward at a hospital in Kibaale district, where the outbreak started, and teams of health workers are visiting villages to isolate people possibly infected and to advise others on preventive measures. Health officials are hopeful there will be no repeat of the severity of the Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2000, when 425 people were infected by the virus, more than half of whom died. Listen to our report: