News

According to Guinea’s Ministry of Health, the incurable Ebola virus has caused 61 deaths in the remote N’zerekore region on the Guinea/ Ivory Coast border.

Fears that the two recent deaths in Conakry, Guinea’s capital, were also caused by Ebola have now proved unfounded but the Ministry of Health has sent text alerts advising Guineans to wash their hands with soap in order to reduce the risks of contamination from close physical contact with other people.  There is no known cure or vaccine for Ebola.

In addition to its first known outbreak of Ebola, Guinea is currently suffering from epidemics of measles, cholera and meningitis.

Previous Ebola outbreaks had occurred essentially in remote villages of Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests but there are now fears that the flourishing cross-border trade with Guinea’s neighbours such as the Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Senegal could spread the epidemic.

The World Health Organisation is advising on the precise measures required to identify and contain the highly-contagious Ebola virus.  Typical symptoms include internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea and vomiting.