Guinea has declared the Ebola epidemic as seven confirmed cases

 With seven confirmed cases in the West African country, including three deaths, officials have reported a new Ebola outbreak.

                             

The seven patients fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding after attending a burial in Goueke sub-prefecture. Those still alive have been isolated in treatment centres, the health ministry said.-AFP 

                                  

Guinea has declared the Ebola epidemic as seven confirmed casesin the southeast.

                                

Seven people experienced diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding after attending a funeral in Gueque, near the Liberian border. The infected patient was isolated in a care center, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

                                 

"In view of this situation and in accordance with international health regulations, the Guinean government has declared an Ebola epidemic," said a statement from the ministry.

                                    

One of the victims was a nurse who fell ill in late January and was buried on February 1, National Health Insurance Agency head Sakoba Keita told local media.

                               

"Some of the people who attended the funeral developed symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding and fever a few days later," he said.

                                 

Health Minister Remi Lama said officials were "deeply concerned" by the deaths, the first since a 2013-2016 epidemic that started in Guinea and killed 11,300 people in West Africa. Most of the cases occurred in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

                                  

The fight against Ebola will put a strain on the health system in Guinea during the coronavirus pandemic. So far, the country has recorded 14,895 coronavirus infections and 84 deaths, with an estimated 12 million.

                                

The Ebola virus causes severe vomiting and diarrhea and is spread through contact with body fluids. It has a much higher death rate than COVID-19, but unlike the coronavirus, it is not transmitted by an asymptomatic carrier.

                              

A second round of tests is being carried out to confirm the latest Ebola diagnosis and health workers are working to trace and isolate contact cases, the ANSS state health department said.

                                     

Guinea is reportedly in contact with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international health agencies for the Ebola vaccine. Vaccines have improved survival rates significantly in recent years.

                                

"WHO is intensifying its efforts to prepare for and respond to a possible #Ebola revival in West Africa, a region that suffered badly from Ebola in 2014," Matshidiso Moetti, Africa regional director, said on Twitter.

                             

"Response Efforts"

WHO has viewed each new outbreak with great care since 2016, treating the recent one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) as an international rescue service.

                                  

On Sunday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Gebrees tweeted that the agency had been informed of a suspected fatal disease in Guinea.

                              

"Confirmatory tests will be carried out," the statement said. "WHO regional and national services support preparedness and response efforts."

In Liberian neighborhoods, President George Weah put his country's health authorities on alert on Sunday.

                           

Weah "authorized Liberian health authorities and relevant actors in the sector to increase surveillance and prevention activities in the country following reports of the deadly disease Ebola in neighboring Guinea," his office said in a statement.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently facing many disease outbreaks. The WHO confirmed a resurgence on Thursday, three months after authorities announced the end of the country's latest outbreak.

                                   

The Democratic Republic of Congo, which declared a six-month epidemic in November, confirmed a fourth case in North Kivu province on Sunday.

The widespread use of the Ebola vaccine, which is given to more than 40,000 people, has helped fight the disease.

                                  

The 2013-2016 diffusion accelerated the development of the Ebola vaccine. A global emergency stock of 500,000 cans should respond quickly to a future outbreak, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance announced in January.