Months After 2014 Outbreak Ends, Ebola Flares Up in Guinea

At least five people have died since 29 February 2016 due to a new flare up of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea [1]. The first two confirmed cases of the virus were detected in the village of Korokpara and involved a mother and her five-year-old son. These are the first cases of Ebola in Guinea since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the country free of the disease in December 2015. This declaration came two years after an outbreak that began in 2013 killed approximately 2,500 people in Guinea and over 11,000 in West Africa [2]. The WHO had warned that Guinea, as well as the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone, are at risk for ongoing smaller outbreaks due to persistence of the virus in some previously infected individuals [3]. Guinea’s 90-day heightened surveillance period was set to end in late March [4].

Ebola virus disease is an often-fatal illness caused by a virus in the Filoviridae family. The first symptoms of the disease can appear 2-21 days after exposure and typically include fatigue, fever, and muscle pain. This is followed by more severe symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, and, in some cases, internal bleeding and multi-organ failure. The virus is transmitted to human populations through close contact with the bodily secretions of infected animal hosts, such as fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, and forest antelopes [5]. This typically happens during the hunting and butchering processes involved with food preparation of “bushmeat” [6]. The virus is also capable of spreading from person-to-person through contact with infected bodily fluids. Many healthcare workers have been infected with Ebola while treating EVD patients, and transmission can occur during burial ceremonies as bodies remain highly infectious even after death [5]

- See more at: http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedaily/article/months-after-2014-outbreak-ends-ebola-flares-guinea-33016#sthash.KvUpbrFc.dpuf