Guinea Declares Ebola Epidemic After at Least Four People Die

Guinea has officially declared a new epidemic of Ebola as at least four people died and four others were infected. The four who have not died are being treated in an isolation center. It marks the first outbreak of Ebola in the region since 2014-2016, when more than 11,300 people died and 28,000 were infected in what became the deadliest outbreak on record. That outbreak also started in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, two countries that are now on high alert for any potential resurgence of the virus in their countries.

West African health officials are now scrambling to try and trace and isolate any suspected cases. But Guinea, one of the world’s poorest countries, is suffering from a severe lack of resources to combat the outbreak as it is already trying to contain not only the coronavirus pandemic but also outbreaks of yellow fever and measles. “We are facing four epidemics at the same time,” said Sakoba Keita, head of the National Health Security Agency.

The outbreak took place in the country’s south where people became sick with diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding after taking part in the burial of a nurse on Feb. 1. Regional health officials emphasized that they have to act quickly. “Time is of the essence. The resurgence of the virus in Guinea comes at the worst possible time when the country is already facing the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mohammed Mukhier, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ Regional Director for Africa said, adding there is hope with scientific advances. “Unless the response is swift, the health, economic and social impacts are likely to be immense for millions of people.”

Doctors Without Borders, the international medical organization, also said it is sending teams to the region to try to control the outbreak before it spreads further. “We know from past experience that the speed of the response is important, both in order to contain transmission and to provide treatment for people who have caught the disease,” said Frederik van der Schrieck, the head of the organization’s mission in Guinea.

Guinea, which has around 12 million people, has so far recorded some 15,000 COVID-19 cases and 84 deaths.

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