It was around late March in 2014 when the World Health Organization confirmed Ebola Virus Disease cases in the rural areas of Southeastern Guinea. The emergence of such cases marked the onset of the West Africa Ebola epidemic.
Ebola in Guinea
Ebola virus is known to host themselves in a particular species of forest-dwelling fruit bats. The latter act as a reservoir of the virus in nature. This cycle is continuous as it ensures the virus is maintained in nature for some time. In the meantime, the virus may spread to other forest-dwelling animals or directly to humans. When the diseases first hit Guinea, the people living in the forested rural region were the first to test positive.
For instance, when the bushmen slaughtered animals infected with Ebola, they came in contact with their infected blood and tissues. And as a result, they contract the virus. Similarly, carry the virus spreading it to other people. That is how Ebola came to spread in Guinea and West Africa at large.
Ebola causes high fever, and in severe cases, continuous bleeding. In most cases, the patients are kept in isolated rooms for any contact with an Ebola patient’s body fluids; one can quickly get infected.
The 2014 to 2016 Ebola outbreak was massive, and no one wishes for history to repeat itself. Swift and sure actions could have salvaged the problem, especially as many lost their lives amid the confusion and unrest on what to do. It is vital to contain an outbreak before it spreads to neighboring countries.
Recent sources reveal that the virus has returned to Guinea. Of course, it is not surprising considering the virus is ever-present in nature, waiting for circumstances that will favor its transfer from one species to another.
Vaccination Plans
Following the tragic episodes of the outbreak great underwent five years ago, the state has decided to handle the virus by the horn. Ebola is no opportunistic virus, for it falls in the category of deadly viruses. 2013, 2016 Ebola outbreak leftover 11300 people Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone dead.
Guinea received its first shipment of thousands of jabs which it hopes to use to curb the deadly virus. Authorities confirmed that it would launch its inoculation campaigns against Ebola on Tuesday. The vaccination was delayed by a single day because the plane transporting the vaccines was unable to land in Guinea’s capital Conakry following a dust storm. AFP reported that the Merck vaccine arrived on a special flight after it landed on Monday in Guinea’s airport.
Health Authorities in the country stated that some of the vaccine doses would be transported directly to Nzerekore, located in the capital of Guinea’s southeastern forest region. It was reported that five people from the area already succumbed to the virus. Further vaccinations are also scheduled to take place in Conakry as of Tuesday. On Wednesday, Guinea expects additional 8700 Ebola vaccines from the United States. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo has also confirmed cases of the virus.
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