CONGO EBOLA

A Congolese family pose in their kitchen in the village of Mbomo, 10 November 2004. Fifteen members of the family died last year when in an Ebola outbreak spread through the region. The disease is highly infectious and easily transmitted through contact with the blood and other body fluids of victims, even when they are dead. Locals seemed to have learned the lessons taught by authorities in the capital Brazzaville, or by the Red Cross and relief aid workers. "We don't eat monkey meat and we don't collect dead meat any more," villagers chorused. One of the dangers has been eating dead animals found in the forest such as gorillas, considered the likely origin of the virus jumping to humans.