Guinea declares Ebola epidemic: First deaths since 2016

Guinea has officially declared that it is dealing with an Ebola epidemic after the deaths of at least three people from the virus.

Between 2013 and 2016 more than 11,000 people died in the West Africa Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea.

In response to that epidemic, which mainly affected Guinea and its neighbours Liberia and Sierra Leone, several vaccines were trialled, which have since been successfully used to fight outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A nurse who worked in a health centre in Goueké, near the south-eastern city of Nzérékoré, died on 28 January, 2021 and her funeral was held four days later.

According to the infected persons, they and four others, fell ill with diarrhoea, vomiting and bleeding after attending the burial of the nurse.

Following a crisis meeting on Sunday, the health ministry said all cases had been isolated, contact tracing was ongoing and a treatment centre was to be set up in Goueké. According to Health Officials, all those infected at the funeral of the nurse were over the age of 25.

Newly developed vaccines will be acquired through the World Health Organization (WHO), officials said.

According to Experts, Community funerals, where people help wash the body of the person who has died, can be a key way of spreading Ebola in the earlier stages of an outbreak.

Story by Vanessa Anaman, GIN