The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned six African countries to be wary of a possible resurgence of the Ebola virus after fresh cases were recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea.
Guinea declared an outbreak of the virus on Sunday in the first return of the disease since the 2013-2016 outbreaks, while Congo has confirmed four new cases this month.
According to Margaret Harris of WHO during a Geneva briefing said that: “We have already alerted the six countries around, including of course Sierra Leone and Liberia, and they are moving very fast to prepare and be ready and to look for any potential infection.
The six African countries include; Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Guinea has so far recorded up to 10 suspected cases of Ebola and five deaths. Since declaring the outbreak on Sunday, it has identified 115 contacts of the known cases in the southeastern city of Nzerekore and 10 in the capital Conakry, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Between 2013 and 2016 more than 11,000 people died in the West Africa Ebola epidemic, which began in Guinea.
Ebola infects humans through close contact with infected animals, such as chimpanzees and fruit bats. It then spreads between humans by direct contact with infected blood, fluids, and organs.
It can also be spread indirectly through contact with contaminated environments.
The Ebola virus can cause severe bleeding and organ failure and is spread through contact with body fluids. It has a much higher death rate than Covid-19, but unlike the coronavirus, it is not transmitted by asymptomatic carriers.
