Fear and frustration as Guinea struggles to contain Ebola outbreak

Ebola centre in Guinea
Doctors without Borders carry a body on a stretcher at a centre for victims of the Ebola virus in Guekedou, Guinea. Photograph: Seyllou/AFP/Getty Images

Late last month, villagers in Guinea's remote south-eastern region of Nzérékoré were greeted by a sight so alarming that many barricaded themselves indoors. A group of doctors dressed in protective suits and helmets were visiting the centre of an Ebola epidemic that has raged for six weeks.

"People were running away from the doctors who looked like cosmonauts on their way back from the moon. We have never seen anything like it. Some locked their doors, others hid themselves. It was frightening because there were all kinds of rumours about how this disease was spreading," said Bah Mamadou, a taxi driver.

It took two more days before his neighbours began to open their doors. Such reactions highlight the uphill battle facing officials and medics as they attempt to contain one of the world's rarest and most lethal viruses, which has claimed 84 lives in the outbreak and jumped borders to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mali.

International organisations fear it could sweep across a region with weak public health services. "Prevention is the only way to contain the Ebola spread and we are desperately trying to get the message across. Posters, leaflets, radio, text messages and TV spots – we are resorting to every possible method to reach communities far and wide," said Berenger Berehoudougou, west Africa director of the aid organisation Plan International.

Officials from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention travelled to Guinea this week to offer help, after a scare in Canada when a citizen returning from Liberia fell ill and was initially thought to have been infected.

There have been five suspected Ebola fatalities in Sierra Leone. In Liberia, where a state of emergency has closed the border with Guinea, the government said this week that the latest of its nine victims had no known links to Guinea. "We have a case in Tapeta where a hunter who has not had any contact with anyone coming from Guinea got sick," the chief medical officer, Bernice Dahn, told AFP. "He was rushed to the hospital and died 30 minutes later. He never had any interaction with someone suspected to be a carrier of the virus and he has never gone to Guinea. This an a isolated case."

Described by virologists as a "molecular shark", Ebola is passed on through bodily fluids and causes extensive internal and external bleeding. The fruit bat, a delicacy in Guinea and Liberia, is a host of the virus. The World Health Organisation believes that the virus spread from Guinea's forested regions to the densely populated capital, Conakry, through one man who travelled 200 miles from the central town of Dobala.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/04/guinea-ebola-outbreak-...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Views: 180

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Guinea faces Ebola epidemic on unprecedented scale, doctors warn

http://12160.info/forum/topics/guinea-faces-ebola-epidemic-on-unpre...

RSS

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Sandy posted videos
20 hours ago
Sandy replied to Sandy's discussion Sick sci-fi sex fantasy written by Epstein's first benefactor people say inspired his twisted island... before author's SON ended up arresting him
"Interesting. I always thought he was still alive. Probably given some plastic surgery and a witness…"
20 hours ago
WIllow is now a member of 12160 Social Network
yesterday
Burbia commented on Less Prone's video
Thumbnail

Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans - Outrage AI Parody Song

"Props to Schottenstein on his foray out of the woods that was DEI and wokeness. "
yesterday
Burbia replied to Sandy's discussion Sick sci-fi sex fantasy written by Epstein's first benefactor people say inspired his twisted island... before author's SON ended up arresting him
"One of the theories floating around was Hilary Clinton's brother Hugh, was the one…"
yesterday
Sandy posted a discussion
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
Less Prone favorited Sandy's video
yesterday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's video
yesterday
Less Prone posted a video

Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans - Outrage AI Parody Song

AI Parody Music Video poking fun at the online hysteria surrounding Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle jeans campaign.✅ Blue jeans✅ Blonde panic✅ DEI gone wild✅...
yesterday
tjdavis posted a video

How "Free" P*rn Sites Really Work (and Who Runs Them)

Excerpt from This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #559 Laila MickelwaitFull Episode: https://youtu.be/9J7187j4PO4?si=2GUNymssKJpe6nEvFind Theo Von:Website: https://...
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a blog post
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Ragnarok's video
Thumbnail

Charles Manson Talks About The Global Elite

"I've had my account with YouTube terminated before over bullshit excuses because they…"
Tuesday
Doc Vega commented on Ragnarok's video
Thumbnail

Charles Manson Talks About The Global Elite

"Remember, though he makes his points, this man used the Beatles White Album as his own manifesto of…"
Tuesday
Sandy posted videos
Monday
Sandy posted a photo
Monday
Sandy commented on Sandy's video
Sunday
Sandy posted a video
Sunday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Jul 30

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted