West African nations scrambled yesterday to contain an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus suspected to have killed at least 59 in Guinea, with people presenting symptoms of the disease reported in neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Health authorities in Liberia said five out of six people who crossed the border from Guinea to seek treatment and showed symptoms of the fever had died.
Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer Bernice Dahn said it was not confirmed if the cases were Ebola, one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to humans, and tests were being carried out.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said a total of 86 suspected cases, including 59 deaths, had been reported in southeastern Guinea near the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. Laboratory tests have confirmed 13 cases of Ebola in Guinea so far, the first outbreak of the disease in West Africa.
In Guinea, 86 suspected cases reported including 59 deaths
“The patients we have seen thus far have similar symptoms to those of the people in Guinea,” Dahn said. “Those people had the sickness and crossed over into Liberia’s Lofa county for treatment. Five died.”
Samples taken from those who died in Liberia had been sent to Conakry for testing, according to the Geneva-based WHO.
In Guinea, authorities have taken steps to quarantine suspected cases in the districts of Guekedou, Macenta, Nzerekore and Kissidougou.
In neighbouring Sierra Leone, authorities set up a taskforce after the death of a 14-year-old boy who had attended the funeral of a suspected Ebola victim. Authorities are yet to confirm if the boy died of the disease.
Sierra Leone was receiving help from the WHO and the US firm Metabiota, which investigates infectious disease threats, said Chief Medical Officer Brima Kargbo.
Initial reports indicated a Canadian who showed Ebola-like symptoms after travelling to West Africa had tested negative for the virus, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters.
Ebola was discovered in 1976 in then-Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists have identified the outbreak in Guinea as the virulent Zaire strain of the virus.