Ebola hemorrhagic fever has resurfaced in Guinea, killing four people in the country’s first outbreak of the disease in five years, the country’s health minister said on Saturday.
The deaths occurred in the southeast region of Nzerekore. One of the victims was a nurse who fell ill in late January and was buried on February 1.
Later, eight people who attended her funeral showed signs of the hemorrhagic fever, and three of them have since died.
It is the first resurgence of the Ebola virus in the country in five years since the 2013 to 2016 outbreak.
The recent cases of Ebola in Guinea bring back memories of a dark period when three West African nations suffered one of the world’s deadliest Ebola outbreaks.
In December 2013, a boy believed to have been between one and two years old died in the Gue-kedou Province of Guinea. Later on, his mother also died from the disease. It was the beginning of a massive outbreak, which quickly spread beyond the nation’s borders.
By December 31, 2016, a cumulative total of 3 814 cases and 2 544 deaths had been recorded in Guinea.
Very concerned by reports of 4 suspected Ebola deaths in Guinea. @WHO is ramping up readiness & response efforts to this potential resurgence of #Ebola in West Africa, a region which suffered so much from Ebola in 2014. pic.twitter.com/9eyMLeZutK
— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) February 14, 2021
.@WHO staff are already on the ground supporting surveillance, infection prevention & control, & community engagement. WHO is also supporting #Guinea to procure the #Ebola vaccine which has proven instrumental in controlling outbreaks in the DRC. pic.twitter.com/xg4EM4VQAU
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) February 14, 2021
