Egypt invites US investment in ports, shipping, and rail sectors    Finance Ministry launches €10M fund to support PPP project preparation    Public Prosecution to transfer 200kg of refined gold to CBE: Shawky    Egypt inks $121m oil, gas exploration deals with Apache, Dragon Oil, Prenco    Egypt's Foreign Minister, Pakistani counterpart meet in Doha    Egypt condemns terrorist attack in northwest Pakistan    Emergency summit in Doha as Gaza toll rises, Israel targets Qatar    Egypt renews call for Middle East free of nuclear weapons، ahead of IAEA conference    Egypt's EDA, Korean pharma firms explore investment opportunities    Egypt's FM heads to Doha for talks on Israel escalation    Egypt strengthens inter-ministerial cooperation to upgrade healthcare sector    Egyptian government charts new policies to advance human development    Egypt advances plans to upgrade historic Cairo with Azbakeya, Ataba projects    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Lebanese Prime Minister visits Egypt's Grand Egyptian Museum    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Scale of Guinea's Ebola epidemic unprecedented: Aid agency
World set on alert as the nightmare of the most deadly disease on earth ravages citizens in Guinea
Published in Ahram Online on 01 - 04 - 2014

Guinea faces an Ebola epidemic on an unprecedented scale as it battles to contain confirmed cases now scattered across several locations that are far apart, medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Monday.
The warning from an organization with experience of tackling Ebola in Central Africa comes after Guinea's president appealed for calm as the number of deaths linked to an outbreak on the border with Liberia and Sierra Leone hit 80.
The outbreak of one of the world's most lethal infectious diseases has spooked a number of governments with weak health systems, prompting Senegal to close its border with Guinea and other neighbors to restrict travel and cross-border exchanges.
Figures released overnight by Guinea's health ministry showed that there had been 78 deaths from 122 cases of suspected Ebola since January, up from 70. Of these, there were 22 laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola, the ministry said.
"We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country," said Mariano Lugli, coordinator of MSF's project in Conakry.
The organization said it had been involved in nearly all other recent Ebola outbreaks, mostly in remote parts of central African nations, but Guinea is now fighting to contain the disease in numerous locations, some of which are hundreds of kilometers apart.
"This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organizations working to control the epidemic," Lugli added.
The outbreak of Ebola - which has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent - has centered around Guinea's southeast. But it took authorities six weeks to identify the disease, allowing it to spread over borders and to more populated areas.
Up to 400 people are identified as potential Ebola contacts in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Tarik Jasarevic, spokesman for the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO), told Reuters. "We need find where these people are and check on them," he said.
APPEAL FOR CALM
Cases were last week confirmed in Conakry, bringing the disease, which was previously limited to remote, lightly populated areas, to the seaside capital of 2 million people.
Guinea's President Alpha Conde late on Sunday appealed for calm. "My government and I are very worried about this epidemic," he said, ordering Guineans to take strict precautions to avoid the further spread of the disease.
"I also call on people not to give in to panic or believe the rumors that are fuelling people's fears," he added.
Liberia has recorded seven suspected and confirmed cases, including four deaths, WHO said. Health authorities on Monday said a female Ebola patient from Lofa County was admitted to Firestone hospital outside the Liberian capital Monrovia.
Health Minister Walter Gwenigale said authorities were trying to trace the taxi driver who brought her to the hospital. Health sources told Reuters the patient later died but there was no official confirmation.
Sierra Leone has reported five suspected cases, none of which have been confirmed.
Officials there on Monday forbid the entry of corpses for burial from across the country's northern border with Guinea, Chief Medical Officer Brima Kargbo told Reuters.
Kargbo said border screening had been introduced. Travelers are being asked where they are coming from and whether they or anyone they had been in contact with had fallen ill, he said.
Senegal, another neighbor of Guinea's, closed its land border over the weekend and has suspended weekly markets near the border to prevent the spread of the disease.
A spokesperson for Orange telecommunications company said it had postponed a music concert with Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour scheduled in Conakry at the weekend due to the outbreak.
Regional airline Gambia Bird delayed the launch of services to Conakry, due to start on Sunday, because of the outbreak.
If the deaths are all confirmed as Ebola, a disease that leads to vomiting, diarrhoea and external bleeding, it would be the most deadly epidemic since 187 people died in Luebo, in Congo's Kasai Orientale province, in 2007.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/98024.aspx


Clic here to read the story from its source.