Ebola Confirmed Again in Case That Deepens Concern

Doctors confirmed Saturday that a 16-year-old boy has the Ebola virus and that another patient has symptoms of it, prompting fears that the deadly disease is continuing to spread in Central Africa.

The boy was admitted last week at Makokou’s hospital and tested for Ebola, which has killed 21 people in Gabon and the neighboring Republic of Congo, regional health director Prosper Abessolo Mengue said Saturday.

The other patient was admitted Friday with symptoms including fever, diarrhea and vomiting.

Neither patient is known to have had contact with any of the previous victims, raising the possibility of more unidentified cases.

“This is very worrying,” said Dr. Julien Meyong, medical chief of the hospital in Makokou, about 250 miles east of the capital, Libreville.

Medical officials have identified 18 Ebola cases in this remote part of Gabon since the outbreak began in late October, according to government figures. Fifteen of the patients have died.

Twelve more suspected cases have been identified in the Republic of Congo, with six deaths.

A team from the World Health Organization and Gabon’s Health Ministry arrived in December and has been working with military doctors to contain the outbreak.

Ebola is one of the most deadly viral diseases known to man. It is passed through contact with bodily fluids but is not airborne.