Ebola Outbreak in Guinea Kills Dozens, May Spread to Other Nations

An Ebola outbreak is spreading across Guinea, where the virus has already killed dozens of people in the nation's south. There are now reports of the viral hemorrhagic fever in the capital city Conakry and a risk of the disease spreading to other nations, according to UNICEF.

Is a press release issued Saturday, UNICEF, the global children's aid charity, said that at least 59 of the 80 people who contracted Ebola in Guinea have died, including three children. The outbreak, which AFP reported began Feb. 9, has prompted a medical response. UNICEF's report suggests the outbreak began only recently. 

"Last week, when the first signs started to appear, UNICEF distributed 50,000 pieces of soap, 1,000 bottles of sodium solution for rehydration, 5,500 chlorine bottles, 5,000 packets of oral rehydration salts and powdered chlorine, to medical workers in the affected areas," UNICEF said, noting that medical workers were often the first to fall victim to Ebola. At least eight heath workers who have come into contact with infected patients have died, UNICEF said.

Speaking with BBC Radio 5, Charles Chui, a virus expert at University of California, San Francisco, said Ebola is a highly infectious disease.

"The mortality rates, historically from Ebola, are about 20 to 60 percent," he said.

Chui said that the Ebola outbreak in Guinea is troubling because the disease has not been seen in that region of West Africa.

"The fact that it's emerged in a new country is quite worrisome," Chui said.

Ebola is commonly transmitted by direct contact with infected blood, feces or sweat, though it can also be spread through improper handling of infected corpses and from sexual contact. Chui noted that Ebola can also be transmitted through direct contact with infected bedding or clothing.

Ebola causes a severe, high fever resulting in hemorrhage of internal organs and into the skin. Other symptoms of Ebola include extreme weakness, muscle pain and headaches, followed by vomiting diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver functions, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet.

There is no human or animal treatment or vaccine available for Ebola, according to the WHO, which notes that some strains of Ebola can carry a 90 percent mortality rate.

"The forest region where UNICEF delivered the emergency assistance on Saturday is located along the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia with many people doing business and moving between the three countries," Laurent Duvillier, a UNICEF spokesperson, said in an emailed statement Monday, Businessweek reported. "Risk of international spread should be taken seriously."