Ebola epidemic in Guinea: West African countries on alert

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Health officials in the southeastern district of N’Zerekore said seven people who attended a nurse’s funeral tested positive for the disease and exhibited symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. Three of them died following the funeral on February 1. It is not known whether the nurse, who worked at the local health center, died of Ebola.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to supporting Guinea, helping to procure the Ebola vaccine which has helped control recent outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its teams are already on the ground and are also helping to ensure infection prevention and control in health facilities and other key locations, as well as reaching communities.

An Ebola treatment center will also be opened in the Gouecke region in N’Zérékore, where the epidemic has been declared.

The Red Cross said in a statement that a network of more than 700 trained volunteers was “activated as part of a first wave of response and the government called on the population to respect hygiene and preventive measures. and report signs of illness to health authorities. “

The world’s largest Ebola outbreak to date began in 2014 in Guinea and continued through 2016, spreading to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. More than 28,000 people have been infected and more than 11,000 of them have died.

The current outbreak has started again in an area bordering Guinea and WHO says it is working with health authorities in Liberia and Sierra Leone to increase surveillance in border districts and improve screening capacity for case.

“It is a huge concern to see the resurgence of Ebola in Guinea, a country which has already suffered so much from the disease. However, building on the expertise and experience acquired during the previous epidemic, health teams in Guinea are on the move to retrace the trajectory of the virus and curb other infections, ”said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, regional director. WHO for Africa, in a statement.

“WHO is helping the authorities to put in place structures for testing, contact tracing and treatment and to accelerate the overall response.”

In a tweet, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The #Guinea has many years of experience in the fight against #Ebola, with qualified incident managers and vaccinators … The government is taking action. measures. in response. Their role is crucial. “

West African countries are on high alert and Nigeria says it is monitoring the situation and will issue a public health advisory to address concerns in Africa’s most populous nation.

Ebola virus disease, which most commonly affects humans and non-human primates such as monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees, is a serious disease that first spreads from wild animals to humans. Humans can become infected from other humans if they come in contact with bodily fluids of an infected person or objects contaminated by infected persons. Humans can also be exposed to the virus, for example by slaughtering infected animals.

On average, about 50% of people with Ebola die, although this percentage has ranged from 25% to 90% in previous outbreaks, according to the WHO.
New cases of Ebola were also reported this month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On February 7, WHO announced a new case of Ebola in Butembo, in the province of North Kivu. The WHO regional office for Africa said on Saturday that a third case of Ebola had been confirmed in the town of Katawa, near Butembo.

The health agency said it was working with partners to provide essential medical supplies to support local health authorities. Vaccinations also started in the region on Monday.

The DRC has faced several Ebola outbreaks to date. In June 2020, the DRC reported its eleventh Ebola outbreak. A total of 130 confirmed and probable cases have been reported, as well as 55 deaths.

CNN’s Maria Fleet, Mia Alberti, Meera Senthilingam, Sharon Braithwaite and Nimi Prince contributed to this report.



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