Etoumbi is a town in the

Cuvette-Ouest Cuvette-Ouest (or Western Cuvette) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. Cuvette-Ouest is the least populated department in the country. It borders the departments of Cuvette and Sangha, and Gabon. The c ...

department of northwestern

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. It is the seat of the

Etoumbi District Etoumbi is a district in the Cuvette-Ouest Department Cuvette-Ouest (or Western Cuvette) is a department of the Republic of the Congo in the western part of the country. Cuvette-Ouest is the least populated department in the country. It borde ...

. Most of its residents make their living hunting in the local forest. Etoumbi has been the site of four recent outbreaks of the

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...

virus, believed to have sparked by local villagers eating the flesh of animals that are found dead in the forest. In 2003, 120 people died in an outbreak. An outbreak in May 2005 led to the quarantine of the town.

References

External links

{{wikinews, Ebola outbreak in Congo
Congo's Ebola town is sealed off
BBC, May 20, 2005
8 dead with Ebola-like symptoms in Congo
CNN, May 12, 2005 Populated places in the Republic of the Congo