Ebola Outbreak Reaches Guinea

There have been 66 deaths confirmed due to the Ebola virus in Conakry, Guinea. There are suspected cases in Liberia and Sierre Leone as well. To take precaution there has been a ban placed on bat soup to lower the spread of disease as they are believed to be the disease carriers. The southeastern region of the country has been hit the hardest thus far.

According to BBC, the “Health Minister Remy Lamah said the virus appeared to have been transmitted by an man who showed symptoms of hemorrhage fever after visiting Dinguiraye in central Guinea, far from the identified outbreaks of Ebola in the remote south-east.”

The threat of the disease is very unsettling as Conakry has a population of two million with limited access to healthcare. Emergency medical supplies have been sent to deal with the outbreak by the Center for Disease and Control (CDC).

Ebola was first discovered in 1976 after an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. Ebola causes severe diarrhea, fever,  internal and external bleeding. Sadly there is no cure or vaccine for the disease, however washing of hands with soap helps to cut down on transmission.