Many dead after Ebola outbreak in Guinea

Ebola fever in West African Guinea

03/23/2014

At least 59 people have died in a new Ebola epidemic in Guinea, West Africa. In neighboring countries, a possible spread of the highly contagious infectious disease is feared.

So far 59 dead by Ebola
Dozens of people have died in a recent Ebola epidemic in Guinea, West Africa. French health experts have identified the virus as the cause of a wave of disease in the south of the country, according to the Ministry of Health in Conakry, Guinea. Thus, so far 80 cases have been registered and 59 people died of the pathogen. The first cases had already occurred in mid-February. The sufferers suffered from diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding.

Local authorities are overwhelmed
As the experts in Guinea initially could not identify the disease, the authorities sent samples to specialists in Lyon, France. Sakoba Keita, who is responsible for disease prevention in the Guinean Ministry of Health, said the first results from France arrived on Friday and would prove Ebola the cause of the outbreak. This affects a total of four administrative districts in Guinea. Because the local authorities are overwhelmed by the epidemic, every conceivable means would be used to fight the disease together with international organizations.

International help
The aid organization Doctors Without Borders will strengthen their local team. There are currently 24 doctors, nurses, logisticians and hygiene and sanitary experts in Guinea. In order to prevent the spread of the disease, isolation stations for suspected cases were set up in the affected areas and it was tried to find people who had contact with the infected. The organization wanted to fly in 33 tons of material from France and Belgium.

Concern about possible spread in neighboring countries
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is also evidence of an outbreak in neighboring Sierra Leone. Thus, several residents of border areas showed the typical symptoms of Ebola. As reported by the local health authority, the case of a 14-year-old boy is examined. And even in neighboring Liberia, the fear of spreading the disease is increasing. As a doctor in the capital Monrovia said, the danger is very likely, because 80 percent of goods sold in the country come from Guinea.

Symptoms of Ebola infection
So far, the Ebola virus occurs only in Africa. It is transmitted by smear infections via body fluids, such as blood on people. Symptoms that appear after a maximum of three weeks of incubation are initially similar to those of influenza. This is followed by high fever, internal bleeding, impairment of liver and kidney function, bloody diarrhea, convulsions, shock and circulatory collapse. Other typical accompanying symptoms are nausea and vomiting. Often, those affected bleed from all orifices.

No vaccine or treatment for Ebola
According to the WHO, about half of the cases are fatal, with the mortality being dependent on the pathogen strain. So far, there is no vaccine or treatment for the virus. Only relief of symptoms can be achieved through comprehensive medical care. Ebola was named after the river of the same name in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it was discovered in 1976. According to the WHO, there have since been around 15 epidemics in Africa, totaling more than 1,300 deaths. According to government sources, in November 2012, a large epidemic in the Congo infected 62 people, 34 of whom died. (Ad)