The government of Guinea has confirmed the outbreak of the new Ebola epidemic. An official statement was released yesterday after the emergence of Ebola cases in the country. This is the first resurgence after the worst outbreak of the disease in 2013-2016.
The health officials were quick to declare the new wave as an epidemic after four people had tested positive. Three of them had died, while the fourth individual was admitted to the hospital with the symptoms of the deadly disease.
The three people who have recently succumbed to this illness had attended the funeral of a nurse who worked at a local health center. She had been transferred to Nzérékoré for further treatment but couldn’t survive.
It’s alarming to note that Nzérékoré was the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak back in 2013-2016. It is a city located near the Ivory Coast border. During the three-year period 2013-2016, the virus accounted for almost 11,300 people in West Africa, with a majority of deaths reported in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
The Regional Director of WHO for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti is very much concerned over the resurgence of Ebola in Guinea. The country has already suffered a lot due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With the resurgence of Ebola, the country’s healthcare system has got a major hit that is going to affect the derailing economy quite hard.
Similar reports of the resurgence of the Ebola virus have been coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC was also affected badly by the outbreak of Ebola that lasted nearly two years and caused more than 2200 deaths.
The Guinea Ministry of Health has asked the World Health Organization (WHO) for the provision of Ebola vaccines. The ministry is also planning to open a treatment center in Guéckédou, solely for the Ebola-infected patients.
