Scale of Guinea’s Ebola epidemic unprecedented, says aid agency

Guinea faces an Ebola epidemic on an unprecedented scale as it battles to contain confirmed cases scattered across several locations that are far apart, according to medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

The warning from an organisation with experience of tackling Ebola in central Africa comes after Guinea’s president appealed for calm as the number of deaths linked to an outbreak on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone hit 80.

The outbreak of one of the world’s most lethal infectious diseases has spooked a number of governments with weak health systems, prompting Senegal to close its border with Guinea and other neighbours to restrict travel and cross-border exchanges.

Figures released by Guinea’s health ministry showed there had been 78 deaths from 122 cases of suspected Ebola since January, up from 70. Of these, there were 22 laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola, the ministry said.

'Never before seen'
"We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country," said MSF co-ordinator Mariano Lugli.

The organisation said it had been involved in almost all other recent Ebola outbreaks, mostly in remote parts of central African nations, but Guinea is now fighting to contain the disease in numerous locations, some of which are hundreds of kilometres apart.

“This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic,” Mr Lugli added.

The outbreak of Ebola, which has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent, has centred around Guinea’s southeast. But it took authorities six weeks to identify the disease, allowing it to spread over borders and to more populated areas.

Up to 400 people are identified as potential Ebola contacts in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, said Tarik Jasarevic, spokesman for the UN’s World Health Organisation. “We need to find where these people are and check on them.”

Cases were last week confirmed in Conakry, bringing the disease, which was previously limited to remote areas, to the seaside capital of two million people.

Guinea’s president, Alpha Condé, appealed for calm earlier this week. “My government and I are very worried about this epidemic,” he said, ordering Guineans to take strict precautions to avoid the further spread of the disease.

“I also call on people not to give in to panic or believe the rumours that are fuelling people’s fears,” he added.

Liberia has recorded seven suspected and confirmed cases, including four deaths.

Sierra Leone has reported five suspected cases, none of which have been confirmed. – (Reuters)