Congo's dead monkeys might have spread Ebola virus: WHO

Luanda (Congo), Jan 6 (Xinhua) The dead monkeys found in a Congo forest last year might be behind the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the global health organisation said Tuesday.

The virus was first reported in late November last year in the country's southwestern Kassai Province. According to World Health Organisation (WTO), 12 deaths in the area were linked to a disease caused by the virus.

Thirty-six other people were also suspected to be infected by the virus, the official ANGOP news agency reported quoting WHO.

WHO representative Diosdado Nsue-Micawg said improper handling of the dead monkeys might have led to the outbreak of the Ebola pandemic in Congo.

He said although the source of the Ebola virus is hitherto unknown, it is feared that hunters and women who visited the forest might have contracted the disease from the infected monkeys.

Currently, laboratory investigations into the deaths are still on at many places, WHO said.