Guinea’s President Alpha Conde has warned of a “health emergency” as authorities raced to contain a spiraling Ebola epidemic that has killed 78 people and prompted neighboring Senegal to close its border.
Guinea’s health ministry said that 122 “suspicious cases” of viral hemorrhagic fever, including 78 deaths, had been registered.
President Conde said his country was facing a “health emergency” but that “thanks to the international community, all measures have been taken to effectively fight this epidemic.”
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This is huge, folks. There are confirmed cases in 3 countries, including the capital/port cities of Gunea and Sierra Leone, and there are no quarantine/containment protocols in place -- international flights to and from Conarky and Monrovia continue on schedule, and doctors who have seen suspected cases continue to see patients with minimal use of precautions. Cote D’ Ivoire also has a number of suspected cases. The confirmed cases are Ebola-Zaire, the most deadly strain of the virus, which has a fatality rate of 70-90% of those infected.
The outbreak presently spans over 500 miles of the West-African coast, and reaches inland for nearly 300 miles, including over 15 cities and uncounted villages and settlements, which have daily trade and other travel between them. Considering the incubation period for Ebola is typically on the order of 7 to 15 days (average 9 days from what I’ve read), we could witness a major swell of new cases in the coming weeks.
WE HAVE BEEN WARNED