ANOTHER FLESH-EATING EBOLA OUTBREAK IN AFRICA - DOZENS KILLED IN GUINEA

New outbreak of deadly flesh-eating Ebola virus has already killed at least 59 people in Guinea, according to Unicef

• Analysts claim Guinea has never had the disease common in Uganda
• No known cure for virus which causes internal and external bleeding
• Isolation units set up and international aid units stepping up work force

Symptoms include internal and external bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea.  It is spread by personal contact and kills 25-90 per cent of those infected.

 

'In Guinea, a country with a weak medical infrastructure, an outbreak like this can be devastating,' the Unicef representative in Guinea, Dr. Mohamed Ag Ayoya, said in a statement.  Unicef has prepositioned supplies and stepped up communication on the ground to sensitise medical staff and local populations on how to avoid contracting the illness, Agoya added.

 

Analysts suggest this is the first instance of Ebola in Guinea, as it is more commonly found in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. 

 

Officials have urged people to stay calm, wash their hands and report all cases to authorities.  They have also warned people against eating wild meat, and offered free health care to anybody that detects symptoms.

 

The international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres announced yesterday it was reinforcing its medical and logistics teams in Guinea in response to the epidemic.  It is also flying in 33 tons of medicines and equipment and setting up isolation units in the three affected areas in the country.  'Isolation units are essential to prevent the spread of the disease, which is highly contagious,' Dr. Esther Sterk, MSF tropical medicine advisor, said.  'Specialised staff are providing care to patients showing signs of infection.'

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