Bradleigh-Ann Walker
Senior Content Editor
An Ebola outbreak has hit the West African state of Guinea, and health officials there are doing everything in their power to prevent more deaths.
According to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), an international medical charity, 29 people have succumbed to the fever since early February. At least five were health officials.
Ebola is contracted through close contact with infected animals like chimpanzees, gorillas, forest antelope, and monkeys. It has a fatality rate of 90%, and this is the first appearance of the disease in Guinea.
MSF is currently flying in medical equipment for the state, and using trucks to carry it the furthest affected regions.
“We must increase the levels of protection for all those looking after the patients by providing kits for hospital personnel,” Damantang Albert Camara, a government spokesman, said.
People have been banned from burying family members who have passed away from the disease, in order to prevent the spread of infection.
The origins of the outbreak appears to be around Macenta, 500 miles away from the capital, Conakry. Keeping the disease away from the capital city is a priority, especially since there is already some panic resulting from the news of the outbreak.
Officials also worry that the illness may spread to nearby Sierra Leone, where symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding) have recently been reported.
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