Deadly Ebola outbreak spreads from Guinea to neighbouring countries

With 78 people dead so far from an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the west-African nation of Guinea, World Health Organization officials have announced that the infection has now spread across the border into Liberia and more suspected cases have turned up in Sierra Leone as well.

The latest figures on this outbreak are alarming. The number of suspected cases is now up to 122 in Guinea, with 78 deaths among them, according to a press release from Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). Reuters says that the county's health ministry reported that 22 of these cases were confirmed as Ebola by laboratory tests. Many of these cases are in southeastern regions of the country, but it appears the virus is spreading. Suspected cases have shown up in central Guinea and the capital city of Conackry, on the coast, but also in parts of neighbouring nations Liberia and Sierra Leone, which share a border with those regions worst hit by the virus so far.

In the press release, Mariano Lugli, the coordinator of MSF's efforts in Conakry, said that the epidemic was "of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country."

"This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organizations working to control the epidemic," he added.

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In Liberia, there have been several suspected cases reported, with seven samples tested so far, and two people have died (one confirmed as infected by the Ebola virus). According to the WHO, as of March 26, another 27 people were under medical followup. To the east, in Sierra Leone, there are another five suspected cases. According to the reports, all of the people suspected of being infected visited Guinea recently.

Ebola is one of the most infectious and dangerous viruses we know of, capable of killing up to 9 out of every 10 people that are infected. This is because someone infected can appear symptom-free for up to three weeks while the virus takes hold, after which they quickly develop severe symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, including weakness, extremely high fever, headaches, muscle pain and conjunctivitis (pink eye), followed by vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, a rash. By the time the infected show symptoms, though, it can often be too late, as the virus, having gone unnoticed by the immune system for all that time, causes blood clots which can block up major organs and cause massive internal bleeding.

The strain that is currently responsible for the outbreak in Guinea and the surrounding area is one that was first seen in Zaire in 1976, and is apparently the deadliest of the known Ebola strains. Although researchers still don't know for sure what species is the natural 'reservoir' for the virus, it's suspected that fruit bats are the most likely source. The virus is transmitted to humans by coming into contact with infected animals, typically when the animals are butchered as a food source. It is usually spread among populations of people due to poor hygiene, or due to cultural practices — like the very personal, and highly respectful funeral practice of washing the deceased by hand — that make it very easy for people to come into contact with the virus.

Worse yet, there is no known cure or vaccine for the Ebola virus. Once contracted, the symptoms can be treated, and this can help the victim survive, but it is really up to the body at that point, whether it will survive or not.

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Even though Ebola is so deadly, containing the disease is relatively easy. If, instead, Ebola was an airborne virus, like influenza (or possibly even the Black Death), it could be spread very quickly just by being in the vicinity of an infected person. Such a hypothetical virus could lead to the doomsday pandemics that often show up in post-apocalyptic fiction.

Fortunately (if anything about this deadly virus could be labeled as 'fortunate'), since Ebola is only spread by direct contact with bodily fluids (blood, mucus, sweat, urine and even breast milk), it only requires a quarantine of those infected, education about preventing exposure, and preventing people from performing the traditional hand-washing of the bodies of people who have died from the virus (at least for as long as the outbreak persists). That's what organizations like Doctors without Borders do in these cases. They quarantine the area, identify who is infected, and do everything they can from there to prevent it from spreading.

This particular outbreak is already spreading, though, which makes the situation more difficult, as efforts to contain it can get spread too thinly to be effective. In response to the threat, according to Reuters, Gambia Bird airline, which was supposed to begin service to Conackry on Sunday, suspended those plans until after the outbreak is contained. Senegal, to the north of Guinea, has completely sealed its borders to the virus from spreading into the country, while Sierra Leone has put a screening process into effect at their border with Guinea, to identify anyone who may have come into contact with someone infected. Hopefully these measures, along with the efforts of Doctors without Borders, can contain the outbreak until it has passed.

(Photo courtesy: Reuters)

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