ZKI supports WHO in the fight against the Marburg Virus in Angola through RESPOND

The outbreak of the Marburg virus has claimed the lives of at least 210 people in Angola, most of them children under the age of five. It is a deadly hemorrhagic fever and a relative of the Ebola virus. The majority of the 231 cases has been registered in the northern province of Uige. The outbreak surfaced late last year and is now threatening to spread to other regions of the country. At the moment infections are reported from six provinces. However, for the time being no cases of contamination have been registered outside Uige (Source: WHO April 11, 2005). The World Health Organisation (WHO) is supporting the Angolan government and has requested help from the RESPOND consortium. ZKI produced in the framework of the GMES Service Element of ESA high resolution satellite maps of the city of Cabinda, where one victim is confirmed at the moment and several persons are in quarantaine. The images do not allow identification of the disease, but will enable WHO to better control and monitor the potential spreading of the virus in the village. The satellite image map was produced from archived imagery acquired on May 03, 2004. The maps are also useful tools for orientation in the city since topographic maps are not available.