Medical authorities are warning that a massive outbreak of Ebola is sweeping through west Africa, most recently hitting the Guinea capital and leaving dozens dead and more than a hundred ill.
So far, 122 are believed to have contracted the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Doctors Without Borders reported to CNN, and 78 have died. The World Health Organization said most victims have hailed from Guinea, but two deaths were reported in Sierre Leone and one in Liberia.
More cases have been found in several different provinces in Guinea, CNN reported.
“We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country,” said Mariano Lugli, the Doctors Without Borders coordinator in Guinea, CNN reported. “[Previous cases] were much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations. This geographical spread is worrisome, because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organizations working to control the epidemic.”
There is no cure for Ebola, which is described by some in the medical community as “one of the world’s most deadly diseases,” CNN reported. It spreads through the blood and kills by shutting down the immune system. Symptoms include a high fever, a headache and muscle pain. About 90 percent of those with Ebola die from it.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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