My son just told me his girlfriend's sister is in Mali with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Doctor's Without Borders, helping treat the afflicted and contain this epidemic and he and her family have been following our articles here to keep up to date with the breaking news. CNN had their first report on the "outbreak," tonight, to my knowledge, while we can proudly declare we are late into our second week of reporting.
As I'm running later than usual, my main body will be shorter than usual. I will put updates and link to our previous background articles in the links as well.
But then thew new is rather sad: Guinea has registered 151 suspected cases and 95 deaths.
Guinea's Health Ministry says the death toll from the Ebola virus epidemic in the country’s southern forests and the capital Conakry has risen to 95.
Doctors Without Borders [Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)] has warned the outbreak in the West African nation is "unprecedented" because the spread of the disease across the country made it very difficult to control. ..."We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country," said MSF’s project coordinator Mariano Lugli.
In Liberia, which borders Guinea, the virus also killed several people. Liberian officials are scrambling to bring the outbreak under control by imposing health and travel restrictions.
Eileen Shim writes Here's How Africa's Unprecedented Ebola Outbreak Started
How did the outbreak begin? Guinea's ministry of health first reported 86 cases of Ebola on March 24. All of the cases were from four southeastern districts: Guekedou, Macenta, Nzerekore and Kissidougou. By Mar. 27, four confirmed cases were found in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. Since then, the virus has crossed borders to spread to other countries.
The definitive cause of the outbreak has yet to be confirmed, although authorities suspect that it may have initially started by people eating bats. Fruit bats are considered a delicacy in Guinea despite the fact that they are the natural hosts of the Ebola virus. The government has now banned eating bats to prevent the disease from spreading further.
But as of now, the most pressing issue may be the public reaction. In Guinea, fear and misinformation have incited a riot against international aid workers in the area. Believing that foreigners brought the disease, locals in the rural town of Macenta attacked a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) treatment center last week.
"We have evacuated all our staff and closed the treatment centre," MSF spokesperson Sam Taylor said. "We're working with the authorities to try and resolve this problem as quickly as possible so we can start treating people again."
Rich Duprey Virus Brings Mining to a Halt in West Africa
It wasn't all that long ago energy and mineral resources were rushing pell-mell into Africa in a bid to exploit its vast wealth, but in the continent's western nation of Guinea activity has been brought to an abrupt halt because of the ebola virus outbreak that's struck the country killing 84 people. ...
Brazilian mining giant Vale (NYSE: VALE ) reported it had evacuated six members of its international staff out of Guinea and gave local workers leave until the crisis is brought under control. ...In an abundance of caution, miners are putting their staff on "lockdown," even though the primary concern is the spread of the disease in the densely populated capital rather than in the rather remote mining areas of the country.
The miners might not feel any financial impact from the virus at the moment, since Vale, for example, has seen its interest in Simandou suspended until the government decides how it wants to proceed. But if the virus spreads to neighboring countries -- and there are cases being reported in Liberia, Mali, and just today Ghana -- interest in the African continent might wane ultimately undermining the continent's efforts to become a major mineral power.
I'll put additional updates here tonight, and links to deeper background articles from the previous couple dates.
Our hearts go our to all those afflicted, their families, and the people of Western Africa.
Last Nights Update was far more extensive. If you have not been keeping up nightly, this review will provide a much better foundation and overview than tonight's where I am only posting things different from last night.
'Panic' as Ebola virus spreads across West Africa, mob attacks medical center
