Conakry, April 3 (IANS) Guinea’s health authorities Thursday said four new ebola cases have been reported in the country, bringing the total number of ebola patients to 134 out of which 84 have succumbed to the viral disease.
The disease is mostly widespread in the southern regional towns of Gueckedou, Macenta, Kissidougou and the capital Conakry, Xinhua reported.
To curb the spread of the epidemic, the government has taken certain measures that include setting up medical isolation centres in the affected regions, disinfection of homes with suspected cases or where ebola patients have died.
The government has also undertaken mobilisation of necessary resources to provide individual protective materials to the most affected zones.
The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) has equally proceeded to distribute hygiene kits to schools in areas most hit by the virus.
Ebola is a fatal disease that kills up to 90 percent of its victims.
Its initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat.
Outbreaks of ebola occur primarily in remote villages in central and west Africa, near tropical rain forests, according to the WHO.
It is feared that the current outbreak has spread to nearby Sierra Leone, where one fatality has been reported so far.
The disease is transmitted between humans through contact with organs, blood, secretions or other body fluids.
