Life
West African countries working to stem the spread of Ebola
Samples taken from those who died in Liberia had been sent to Conakry for testing, according to WHO.
In Guinea, authorities have taken steps to quarantine suspected cases in the districts of Guekedou, Macenta, Nzerekore and Kissidougou.
In Sierra Leone, authorities set up a task force after the death of a 14-year-old boy who had attended the funeral of a suspected Ebola victim. Authorities have yet to confirm if the boy died of the disease.
Ebola was discovered in 1976 in then-Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. Scientists have identified the outbreak in Guinea as the virulent Zaire strain of the virus.
Because people who fall sick with it tend to vomit, have diarrhea and suffer both internal and external bleeding, their bodies are often “covered in virus”, Peter Piot, one of the co-discoverers of Ebola and now director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told reporters.
This means anyone in close contact with them including nurses, doctors and carers is at risk, he said.
The virus causes a raging fever, headaches, muscle pain, conjunctivitis and weakness, before moving into more severe phases of causing vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhages.
