CONAKRY, March 23 — An outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever, one of the most virulent viral diseases on earth, spread to Guinea’s capital, Conakry, having killed at least 59 people, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
At least 80 cases of the disease have been recorded across the West African country, the world’s biggest producer of bauxite, which is the ore used to make aluminium, Unicef said in a statement on its website yesterday.
“This outbreak is particularly devastating because medical staff are among the first victims,” said the organisation, which has dispatched five metric tons of aid, including medical supplies, to the most-affected areas. “So far it has killed at least eight health workers who have been in contact with infected patients.”
Ebola is transmitted through contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected person or wild animal, according to the World Health Organisation’s website. The virus was first identified in Sudan and Congo in 1976, WHO says. — Bloomberg
