The authorities in Guinea are talking about a new epidemic of the Ebola virus now that people have died of Ebola for the first time in five years. Health Minister Remy Lamah reported that four people in the West African country have died from the virus. During the 2013-2016 outbreak, which started in Guinea, more than 11,000 people were killed across the region. The WHO health organization pledged rapid aid to the country on Sunday.
A nurse in the southeastern region of Nzerekore fell ill in late January and was buried on February 1. Eight people who attended her funeral showed symptoms shortly afterward. Three of them have now also died, four are in hospital. Tests later revealed that they have Ebola.
Guinea is not the only country in the region currently facing an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Liberian President George Weah is concerned and has asked health authorities in his country to increase vigilance over the Ebola outbreak in neighboring Guinea. Preventive measures have been taken and supervision is being tightened.
The WHO has viewed each new outbreak since 2016 with great concern, and considers the most recent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo an international emergency. On Sunday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on Twitter that the UN health agency had been notified of two suspected cases of the deadly disease in Guinea.
The Democratic Republic of Congo reported on Sunday that a fourth case of Ebola has been discovered in North Kivu province. The WHO confirmed a resurgence of the virus there on Thursday, three months after Congolese authorities announced the end of the latest outbreak in the country. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has faced multiple outbreaks of the very deadly disease. During the latest outbreak, 55 of the 130 people infected died.
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