February 15, 2021

Andrew Campbell 

The Health Ministry of Guinea announced on February 14 a new resurgence of the deadly Ebola outbreak after finding seven cases and three deaths. Reportedly, the three dead people had fallen ill because of diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding after attending the funeral of a nurse in the town Gouéké of the Nzérékoré region on February 1.

It is unclear whether the buried nurse died of Ebola. However, officials have found the Ebola virus in samples tested from the patients confirmed by a laboratory. Ironically, the 2013-16 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone first started in Nzérékoré, bordering Liberia and Ivory Coast. In Guinea, there were more than 11,300 deaths at that time. Health officials believe the Ebola virus causes a hemorrhagic fever transmitted through contact with body fluids or secretions from an infected or recently deceased person.

Last June, the Democratic Republic of Congo announced the Ebola outbreak was finally over, killing more than 2,200 people. Unfortunately, Congo has reported 4 Ebola cases in North Kivu province since February 7. The latest Ebola resurgence has alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities of West Africa's countries to ramping up efforts in getting Ebola vaccines while they are battling coronavirus pandemic at the same time.

Photo:Webshot.